Poltergeist
by StarCannon
Summary: An endoftheschoolyear trip becomes frightning when our favorite gang meets 2 local boys who convince them that this town has more in common with Smallville then they thought. SmallvilleEerie, Indiana and CLANA!
1. ChApTeR OnE

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
A.n. New fic that's not a sequel to anything! Yay! Once again I was inspired to write this. Mostly from this show called Eerie, Indiana. omg that is an awesome show! lol. i watched it all the time when i was little even tho it only lasted for like twenty episodes. wait - what am i saying? i still watch it! ;op  
  
anywayz, this means this fic will be a Smallville/Eerie, Indiana crossover. Even if you haven't seen Eerie, Indiana plz read this fic. i'm not a big fan of crossovers myself (mostly because they start 2 get a little too sci- fi for me) but some (like this one!) are cool. so please at least read the first chapter and review 2 make me happy.  
  
o - did i fail to mention that it is cLaNa?!?!?!?! lol.  
  
enjoy! :o)  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Man, this bites," Pete stated angrily just as Clark walked into the Torch office to give Chloe his new article.  
  
"What bites?" Clark asked Pete curiously as he handed his finished paper to his other friend.  
  
"This year's school field trip. My brother said last year they went to England for a week and the year before that they went to Walt Disney World."  
  
"And?" Clark urged as he sat down in a chair next to him not quite understanding his point.  
  
"This year's fun ride is to Eerie, Indiana," Chloe added brightly her eyes still forcing themselves to look at the computer screen in which she was typing the front page story.  
  
"Eerie, Indiana?" Clark repeated puzzled.  
  
"Yes and if you'd have said that with a little more rage you could sound just like Pete," Chloe notified smirking at Pete and then quickly snapping her vision back on the screen.  
  
"You cannot tell me you aren't the tiniest bit disappointed. I mean, who the hell has ever even heard of that place?" Pete said defensively.  
  
"You never know, Pete. It could become the best trip of your life," Clark announced openmindedly.  
  
"Besides, it's not like their forcing us to go or anything. In fact, you have to pay for your own train ticket if you decide to go," Chloe added matter-of-factly.  
  
"We have to pay to go to this dump? No way. Have fun guys. I'll be staying here playing PS2 and watching Lord Of The Rings. At least that will be a fun adventure," Pete practically shouted as his temper shortened rapidly. "Eerie, Indiana is one step up from staring at a wall."  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Chloe informed leaning even closer to the monitor as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "This site was designed by two kids who live in Eerie. It says they've recorded over eighty eight strange or odd things that have happened to them and others while living there."  
  
"They've gotta be joking," Pete said in disbelief.  
  
"Sounds like they got Eerie and Smallville mixed up," Clark spoke up as he stood and walked around to look over Chloe's shoulder at the screen along with Pete.  
  
Chloe scrolled down and continued to read aloud:  
  
"Four possible UFO sightigs, fifteen ghosts and/or apparations, bigfoot prints, werewolfs, and over fifty haunted structures in Eerie. Well, that pretty much puts them on the same level with Smallville as far as weirdness goes."  
  
"How do you know they aren't making this crap up to try to get people to come to their boring-ass town? They could be sci-fi maniacs for all we know," Pete spat still not wanting to accept the fact that this trip could be fun.  
  
"Still, I think I should go. If I can find these kids I might be able to get an interview out of them," Chloe wondered out loud.  
  
"I'm in. What about you, Pete?" Clark glanced at his friend who stared at them unbelievably.  
  
"I can't believe you two just ate that whole thing up. What if they're lieing?"  
  
"Then we wasted our money and you can make us regret it for the rest of our lives," Clark promised.  
  
"You know what? I should go just to show you guys that this place is no where near Smallville standards."  
  
"Then you're going?"  
  
"I know I am," Lana interuppted as she walked into the office greeting everyone with a friendly smile.  
  
"Hey Lana," Clark immediately greeted cheerily as he beamed at her. Seeing Lana smile made his day perfect.  
  
"Hey Clark," she answered setting her bookbag down on the couch."I assume you were talking about the trip to Eerie?"  
  
"Yeah. All of us are going except for Pete. Isn't that right?" Chloe whirled around and stared at Pete along with everyone else.  
  
"You're not coming with us?" Lana asked bewilderedly as she frowned.  
  
"What are talking about? I'm packing my things as soon as school gets out," Pete explained trying to hide the fact that he still wished they were going somewhere more populated. But what fun would it be in Smallville without his friends?  
  
"Great," Lana exclaimed.  
  
The morning bell rang and everyone filed out and merged in with the rest of the bustling crowds of students dully walking to their classes.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Don't forget to call if thing goes wrong."  
  
"And don't run off anywhere without letting someone know where you're going."  
  
"And don't try to save the world while you're there, son. We want you to go and have fun."  
  
"Alright! Okay! Geez, it's not like I'm going into the navy. It's just for a week. I'll be back next Saturday," Clark broke in for the fifth time.  
  
He loved his parents - he really did - but sometimes they could get pretty annoying.  
  
"And you have everything?" Martha double checked worriedly.  
  
"Yes, mom," he confirmed firmly.  
  
They were standing in front of the train that would be taking Clark and his three friends to Eerie, Indiana. It's jet black engine puffed up clouds of dark smoke as it came to a halt at the station. The other train cars were painted a deep maroon color. Everyone was hurriedly rushing by and Clark felt excitement bubble up inside of him again.  
  
He'd never really been out of Kansas unless you counted when he was three and fell down from the planet Krypton in a meteor shower. It seemed as he got older, Smallville got - well - smaller. He needed to leave and find new adventures. A trip to Indiana seemed like his best bet.  
  
"Yo Clark! Over here!" Pete shouted waving his hands madly.  
  
Chloe and - Clark's heart skipped a beat - Lana were with him along with a crowd of other Smallvile High students and teachers.  
  
"I guess I better go now," Clark hinted giving his parents one last hug and then jogging over to his friends.  
  
"Do you really think he should be going on this trip? Something could happen," Martha whispered to her husband as she waved goodbye.  
  
"Well, it would be kind of awkward to stop him now," Jonathan answered as he watched his son talk excitedly with his friends."We both know that he's getting older and one day he won't need us to worry about him anymore. He'll be perfectly fine."  
  
*~*~*  
  
"I got cards, checkers, chess, and snacks. This train ride is gonna be better then the trip itself!" Pete said as Clark approached them.  
  
Clark only half heard what Pete said because he was to busy looking at Lana. She was wearing tight jeans and a white tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she silently laughed as Clark stared at her.  
  
"Are you okay, Clark?"  
  
"Huh? Oh - yeah I'm great," he answered quickly as he forced himself to look away from her.  
  
She continued to gaze at him. He had some nice jeans and a Nike t-shirt (stole that outfit from CbtD. lol). She was surprised he didn't have his favorite fannel. It was a nice change.  
  
"Alright everyone! If all Smallville High students would look over hear please!" Mr. McDaniels, the den of the school and leader of the trip, shouted.  
  
Lana reluctantly moved her gaze from Clark to Mr. McDaniels.  
  
"First, I want you all to know that this is a fun as well as educational trip for you and I expect each and everyone out here to learn at least one new thing.  
  
"Second, you all will find a seat in the many compartments which each hold up to six people. If someone cannot find a seat and you have room, please be nice for a change and let them sit with you. The sleeping areas will only be used at night. You and a partner will share a room and no co-ed rooms please. This is a school trip.  
  
"Lastly, I want you to remember that we are tourists in Eerie and I strongly urge you all to stay with the group. I will give you more information when we get there. You may now board the train. We'll be leaving in five minutes."  
  
Chloe, Pete, Clark, and Lana climbed the steps and found an emtpy compartment. Pete immediately dished out his snacks and they all played cards until midnight when Mr. McDaniels informed them that they must get to bed.  
  
Pete and Clark found their room while Chloe and Lana found theirs and they all fell asleep knowing that when they awoke they would be even closer to Eerie, Indiana.  
  
And, for some reason, Clark felt like that was a bad thing instead of a good one.  
  
*~*~*  
  
A.n. how'd u like it so far? i promise the clana is on the way. i try 2 put at least i tiny bit in each chapter.  
  
pleez review! :o) 


	2. ChApTeR TwO

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
A.n. Thanx 2 everyone who reviewed so far! really appreciate it! i'm not surprised that some of don't kno what Eerie, Indiana is...i think it's better that way tho. lol. more surprises for ya.  
  
now entering chapter 2....  
  
*~*~*  
  
Clark woke to the droning sound of the train's cars being pulled along the tracks. The sun was just poking up its first rays and informed Clark he had awoken much to early. He groggily lifted his wrist up to look at his watch. It showed 5:45 AM. Yep. Waaaaay to early for even a farm boy like him (at least that's what i think. i don't live on a farm so i wouldn't know what time they get up. lol).  
  
He rolled over in his creeky cot and tried to remember the dream he'd been having. It hadn't been a pleasent dream. More like a nightmare. About him. And the others on this trip.  
  
Why couldn't he remember it? Something about a field...  
  
Suddenly it hit him like a baseball bat. Pete, Chloe, Lana, and him were hopping off the train. A field of bright green grass spread out before them. They all rushed out and laughed as they flew past the sea of wild flowers. Lana was by him. Smiling. Holding his hand. Everything was happy.  
  
Then a dark house appeared. Strange moaning noises issued from it. At first he couldn't hear what the house was telling him. And then he heard:  
  
'Go...away...GO...AWAY...you must die now or GO AWAY!'  
  
"Man, I have the stupidest dreams," Clark mumbled to himself.  
  
It did sound dumb. He was almost certain that Eerie wasn't going to be as happy and bouncing as the 100 Acre Woods or that a black colored house was going to order him out of the town. It was just a simple dream. When all was said and done, it probably only meant he was nervous about something happening while he was there. Wasn't everyone having that feeling?  
  
Still, it was keeping him awake. Mr. McDaniels had mentioned something about a small eating cart in the back that was opened 24 hours while Clark was playing cards with his friends. Maybe a nice cup of coffee would calm him down.  
  
He tip-toed out of the room making sure he didn't wake Pete (who was whispering something about giant purple turtles and a guy named Frank) and wisked away to the back of the train.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Clark finally reached the cart and slid open the wooden door. There wasn't much to it. Just a few tables and chairs and a small bar which was nicely polished and had a cheery looking man standing behind it. The man had just handed a girl at the counter a cup of something.  
  
Clark's heart jumped. It was Lana.  
  
"Hey Lana," he greeted sweetly.  
  
"Clark!" Lana whirled around quickly. "What're you doing here?"  
  
"I couldn't sleep so I was gonna get some coffee. How about you?"  
  
"Ditto," Lana stated. "Sit down."  
  
Clark took a stool next to Lana and drank in her beauty as she sipped her cappicino.  
  
The man behind the counter set a cup of coffee in front of Clark. Clark paid for it quickly so that he and Lana would be alone.  
  
"Hopefully Mr. McDaniels doesn't kill us for being out this early," Lana said a little worried.  
  
"Naw, he's probably completely wiped out after busting a bunch of kids trying to sneak their girlfriend or boyfriend in with them last night."  
  
Lana smiled and suddenly realized she was still in her pajamas and her face was a mess.  
  
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I look awful," Lana announced half laughing at herself.  
  
"No you don't. You look great for a girl who woke up at 5 in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep," Clark confirmed reassuringly.  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment I guess," Lana supposed looking down at Clark's glow-in-the-dark space-ship lounge pants.  
  
"Nice pants," Lana exclaimed jokingly.  
  
Clark laughed as he turned slightly red.  
  
"I find them quite comfy."  
  
Lana's eyes scanned his tight white shirt with the Smallville High Crow's mascot on it. Those shirts always struck Lana as being dorky but somehow it looked perfect on Clark.  
  
Clark couldn't deny it. He liked the way Lana was looking at him. But it was probably out of pure disbelief and nothing romantic like it always had been with them - just friends.  
  
"Uh...I heard Chloe thinks Eerie is in the land of the weird along with Smallville," Lana spoke up trying to stop herself from thinking about Clark.  
  
"Yeah, but it's probably nothing. Chloe always over-exaggerates things. I mean her main tip off was a website created by two little kids."  
  
"Well, I wouldn't cancel it out just yet. Chloe doesn't usually fall for that type of stuff so hard," Lana stated openmindedly.  
  
"Yeah I guess."  
  
"Mr. Kent. Ms. Lang. I expect you two have a nice fool proof excuse for being out of your rooms before eight?" Mr. McDaniels interrupted firmly in the doorway of the cart.  
  
"We couldn't sleep," Lana admited realizing that sounded extremely lame.  
  
"I see. And what made you think that sitting at a bar together would help you to solve that problem?" Mr. McDaniels asked folding his arms.  
  
"Uh...we...uh..."  
  
"I suggest you get back to bed before I give you each a twenty minute detention."  
  
"Right," Clark agreed glancing over at Lana with a sorry look on his face.  
  
Mr. McDaniels eyed them cautiously as they passed him and went to their separate rooms.  
  
*~*~*  
  
A few hours later everyone had woken up and Mr. McDaniels allowed them to go back to their compartments and mingle amongst their friends.  
  
"I talked to one of the men running this train. They said we have about a half an hour more before we reach Eerie," Chloe informed them all as she closed the door to their compartment.  
  
"Who's up for another fifteen rounds of Spades?" Pete asked hopelessly as he pulled out his cards.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"It's your turn, Clark. Clark!"  
  
It had only been twenty minutes and already Clark was fast asleep next to Lana. His cards lay limply in his hands and a few had spilled out and fallen to the floor.  
  
"Shhh, Pete! Let him sleep. It's my turn," Chloe whispered strongly as she slapped a card down on top of the one Pete had just played.  
  
Lana slowly slid Clark's cards out from his hand which felt comfortably warm. His facial expression remained soft and unaware.  
  
'He looks so cute,' Lana thought. 'Especially with those lounge pants still on.'  
  
"We might as well quit. You can't play Spades with three people," Pete announced plopping his small deck of cards onto the others in the center and then reaching for the bag of Cheetos.  
  
"Excuses excuses. You know Lana and I had you and Clark beat," Chloe bragged happily.  
  
"Yeah, for once."  
  
Lana wasn't listening to a thing either one of them was saying. She stayed seated in the chair next to Clark and watched him as he lay there quietly.  
  
*~*~*  
  
A.n. not really an interesting unpdate unless u like clana (as all smallville fans should. lol. jk). review!!! 


	3. ChApTeR ThReE

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
A.n. hi again! here's the next chapter! thanx for the postive reviews! keep it up! glad u liked Clark's attractive pants. haha  
  
o and Cheese Diva - ur not far off about Clark sleeping on Lana...lol :o)  
  
Pleez R&R now!  
  
*~*~*  
  
"We will be arriving at the Eerie Depot in ten minutes. Everyone must be ready to leave the train as soon as it stops. Thank you."  
  
Clark stirred a little as the anouncement was being made on the intercom. He wished he could sleep a little more but then he remembered what he was wearing. Yeah, that would go over real well with Mr. McDaniels.  
  
He opened his eyes and almost fell off the chair in astonishment.  
  
Lana was sitting next to him in a deep sleep. Her head was resting on his shoulder with both her hands were wrapped around his arm. Her breathing was soft and hot on his neck.  
  
He snapped his head over to Chloe and Pete hoping they hadn't seen this and taken it the wrong way. Thankfully, Pete was asleep on the floor with his empty Cheetos bag (once again dreaming of Frank and the Purple Turtles) while Chloe was curled up in her seat drooling in her sleep.  
  
Clark swallowed uneasily. If he didn't move he wouldn't have enough time to change. But if he did move, Lana would wake up. What would she say? Did she mean to fall asleep half on top of him?  
  
That's when Lana opened her eyes.  
  
"...Clark? Clark! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"  
  
She slid back into her chair next him with reddened cheeks desperately avoiding his eyes.  
  
"No, it's okay. Don't worry about it," Clark confirmed smiling goofily at her.  
  
She glanced up into his eyes and for one split second they felt the instant connection to hold each other like they had been a few minutes ago. But then Clark remembered he had only ten minutes.  
  
"I - uh - I gotta go change. We'll be arriving at the Eerie Depot soon," he said quickly as he stood to grab his bag and walk out the door.  
  
"Really? I better change too," Lana informed as she too stood to get her clothes.  
  
Just then, with a screech of the brakes, the train jolted to an abrupted stop sending everyone and everything towards the front of the train with a smash.  
  
Chloe fell out of her seat and onto the floor next to Pete who rolled over onto his other side and took no notice that anything had happened.  
  
"What the heck?" Chloe snapped groggily as she wiped her tired eyes in an attempt to wake herself up.  
  
Clark wasn't actually sure how it happened, but Lana was no longer standing next to him. He had fallen backwards into a chair and now Lana was on top of him. His hands were on her waist while her arms were linked completely around his neck. Her face was inches from his. He could smell her hair. Taste her breath. Almost everything inside him yerned to kiss her. But something else told him not to.  
  
Not yet anyways.  
  
"You okay?" he asked nervously.  
  
"Yeah, I'm - I'm fine," she answered standing up slowly.  
  
"What happened? Why aren't we moving?" Chloe asked sleepily.  
  
"I don't know. Um - I'll go see what's goin' on," Clark stated standing up and escaping Lana's stare as he snatched his clothes and walked out the door.  
  
'Gosh, Clark, why must you always chicken out when you get the perfect chance to kiss Lana?' Clark asked himself mentally. 'Why do you always have to be such a loser?'  
  
As he continued down the hallway, he noticed Lance - a sophmore at Smallville High.  
  
"Lance!" Clark called out as the student turned his head toward his voice. "Do you know what's going on with the train?"  
  
"Something about the tracks. Mr. McDaniels told everyone to stay in the train until they take care of it."  
  
Clark thought about this. What could be wrong about the tracks? Should he go check it out?  
  
Just then the intercom buzzed on.  
  
"Attention students of Smallville High. We are experiencing some difficulties with the train tracks. Get all your things together. We will walk the rest of the way to Eerie. Our engineer will be our guide. Do this quickly and quietly so we don't get behind on our schedule. Thank you."  
  
"Man, I knew this trip would be crazy," Lance announced affirmatively.  
  
"Really? Why?" Clark wondered.  
  
"Jeremy, my oldest brother, said that ten years ago his best friend's sister went here on a school trip. All this weird stuff kept happenin' to them. And by the end of the week, four of em went missing."  
  
Clark didn't know whether to laugh in doubt or widen his eyes with terror.  
  
"Well, don't you think it would be a bigger deal then? I mean - how come I've never heard about it?"  
  
"Believe it or not you don't know everything, Kent," Lance explained rudely. "Besides, it was ten years ago. It's old news."  
  
"Old news? Didn't their famlies care? Aren't their families curious as to what happened to them?" Clark asked unbelievably.  
  
"Sure they cared! But after their kids went missing, the families started experiencing strange happenings. They lost things and found them in oddest places of their house. The television and faucet would turn off and on on its own. Voices and footsteps were heard in their houses at night when everyone was in bed. The families were finally driven out of Smallville and never heard from again." Clark didn't say anything. "Go ahead and doubt me, Clark. I know it's true. Just make sure you get a good look at the ones around you. You might not see them again."  
  
With that, Lance shuffled down the hallway leaving Clark in his thoughts about what he'd just learned.  
  
'Well, that's about as practical as Chloe and her website findings,' Clark reassured himself.  
  
Still, there was this small place in his head that didn't fully cancel out this information. After all, he was from Smallville and Smallville was no average American town.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Clark got dressed quickly and met everyone else outside of the train. A huge bulk of the students were crowded around the locomotive of the train looking down at the tracks.  
  
"What're they looking at?" Clark asked Chloe.  
  
"See for yourself," Chloe replied knodding towards the spot.  
  
Clark looked from the tracks to Chloe and then made his way through the crowd.  
  
He finally reached the center and realized what everyone was so skeptical about - a large chunk of the metal railing was completely torn off and the gravel was spilled out everywhere. The wooden planks were crunched and splittered. It basically looked like an angry bear grabbed the tracks and ripped them off like a child opening a present.  
  
"Holy crap! Look at the size of that hole!" Ryan, another student, exclaimed awed by the strange display.  
  
"How the hell did it get there?" someone else asked rhetorically.  
  
Clark remained silent trying to examine every part of the scene. He then withdrew his spot in the crowd and walked back to his friends.  
  
"What do they think did that?"  
  
"I asked Mr. McDaniels and Charlie the engineer but neither one are saying a thing. Makes you wonder if they have somethng they're trying to hide." Chloe informed reportively.  
  
"I have a feeling this trip is going to get a lot weirder," Clark replied half to himself.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Lana wondered.  
  
Clark went on to tell them of what Lance had said to him earlier.  
  
"And you heard this from Lance Garner? The loony sophmore who also believed a monster lived in his closet till he was in 8th grade?" Chloe asked unbelievably.  
  
"All I'm saying is that it's not out of the realm of possiblity that it could've happened. I think we better be extra careful around here."  
  
"I can't believe you bought that hook, line, and sinker," Chloe exclaimed smiling.  
  
"Chloe, quit being so hard on Clark. He has his reasons to believe Lance just like you have yours to believe that website," Lana dictated calmly.  
  
Clark looked over at Lana who smiled at him sweetly.  
  
"Is everybody out of the train? Alright let's get going!" Mr. McDaniels shouted over the many rumors about the tracks.  
  
The crowd began to mingle away following Charlie and Mr. McDaniels.  
  
"Wait," Chloe suddenly stopped as the train finally disappeared from their view.  
  
"What is it?" Lana asked automatically.  
  
"Pete! We totally forgot him!"  
  
Clark quickly scanned around and realized Chloe was right. Pete was still in the train.  
  
"I'll get him. You guys go ahead," Clark volunteered as he rushed back where they came from.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Pete! Pete, you in here?!" Clark shouted walking back to the compartment Pete had been sleeping in.  
  
He opened the door and noticed something very obvious: Pete wasn't there.  
  
"Pete? Pete, this isn't funny. We're gonna get it bad from Mr. McDaniels if you don't come out," Clark warned looking around the small room.  
  
All his belongings were still there. Even his empty Cheetos bag.  
  
But where was Pete?  
  
Thoughts of what Lance had told him filled his head. But Pete couldn't have disappeared. He wasn't gone. Was he?  
  
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"  
  
Clark's ears heard the terrified scream of his friend coming from somewhere outside of the train.  
  
"Somebody help!!!"  
  
Clark super sped to the exterior part of the train and x-rayed the layers of thick forest surrounding the tracks.  
  
He suddenly spotted a skeletal figure struggling on the ground. It looked as if something invisible was attacking its neck.  
  
"Pete!"  
  
Clark practically exploded through the trees as he sped towards the choker and its victim.  
  
He reached the spot where he'd seen them at but now there was only one - Pete.  
  
"Pete, are you alright?" Clark asked concerned as he bent over his friend.  
  
"Fine...I think," Pete answered in a rough dry voice.  
  
"Tell me what happened while we get your stuff and catch up with the others."  
  
*~*~*  
  
A.n. now it's getting interesting...:o)  
  
review! 


	4. ChApTeR FoUr

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
A.n. here ya go! im gonna try to put Lex in this fic asap. wouldn't be a good fic without him ;o)  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Halley James?" Mr. McDaniels stated loudly over the bustling crowds of highschool students who were crammed around the extremely old depot of Eerie.  
  
"Here," Halley responded quickly.  
  
"Alex Karter?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm here," a grumpy senior shouted dully.  
  
"Clark Kent?"  
  
A brief pause.  
  
"Is Clark Kent here?" Mr. McDaniels asked the Smallville citzens openly. He pulled off his glasses for which he needed to read the fine print of the attendance list and scanned the area carefully.  
  
"He's a little behind. He went to wake Pete Ross who over slept on the train," Chloe informed hoping Mr. McDaniels heard her over the many other kids deep in gossip about the train.  
  
"By himself? And he didn't care to acknowledge this to me?"  
  
Just then Clark and Pete could be seen walking, heads down, toward the others. They knew Mr. McDaniels was staring at them demonically.  
  
"And what, Mr. Kent, made you think you could linger behind the rest of the group and mingle with Mr. Ross?" Mr. McDaniels asked firmly as the chatting of the others died down.  
  
"I wasn't mingling. He didn't wake up in time -"  
  
"Why didn't you tell me this when I asked if everyone was off the train?" Mr. McDaniels asked Clark who was beginning to redden and look a little embarassed.  
  
"I just - forgot. I'm sor -"  
  
"Twenty minute detention for both of you," Mr. McDaniels spat out cutting off Clark's nervous apology.  
  
Clark was taking back and wanted to argue but knew it would get him no where. Pete knudged him in the side and lead Clark through the crowd towards Chloe and Lana.  
  
Mr. McDaniels glared at them sturnly and then slipped his spectacles back on to read the remaining names on the list.  
  
"Alright, now that everyone is here, I will briefly go through our schedule for today," Mr. McDaniels said straight-forwardly as he folded up the list and stuck it in his coat pocket along with his glasses. "First, because of the generous offer given to us by Lex Luthor, we will be stopping by the Presidilla Mansion to drop off our things and find the rooms we will be staying in for the whole trip."  
  
"Why would Lex let Smallville High use one of his mansions for a little trip like this?" Chloe asked mainly to Clark.  
  
"Probably just trying to be nice. Lex is a lot diffrent from his father then you think, Chloe," Clark answered giving her a look that ended the conversation.  
  
Chloe stared at him a little clueless as to why Lex would even buy a mansion in Indiana in the first place but decided not to acknowledge it.  
  
"Next, we will ride a bus to the Eerie Museum and take a one to two hour tour through the entire building. After that eventful stop, the bus will take us to downtown Eerie where you all may scurry about with your friends to eat and blow your money on fake souvenoirs until seven when the bus will stop in front of the Eerie Police Station to drop us off at the mansion for the night. No one without my permission is to leave the mansion after that. Now, are there any questions?"  
  
"Yeah, where are all the clubs?" Roger, a junior with blue hair and a pierced ear, asked as he broke into a goofy laugh with his friends.  
  
"There are no clubs in this town, Mr. Flemming, and only one bar which no one under the age of twenty one is to be admited into. If you want to have fun you can go ahead and empty your pockets at the arcade."  
  
There were a few grumbles and moans.  
  
"Yeah, yeah everyone on the bus. Let's go!" Mr. McDaniels ordered as a white charter bus with thick layers of mud covering its sides pulled up next to the depot and sqeaked its brakes loudly.  
  
Lana started to pick up her things.  
  
"Here Lana, I'll get those for you," Clark offered sliding her bags on his shoulder along with his own.  
  
She would've refused if he hadn't taken them from her already. And he didn't seem to be struggling.  
  
"Um...thanks, Clark," Lana said sincerely.  
  
"No problem. Hey, could you save us some seats towards the back? Pete and I have to tell you and Chloe some thing," Clark wondered seeing as Lana was the only one not being held down by luggage.  
  
"Sure. Thanks again for taking my stuff," Lana stated still pondering why Clark had offered to take her bags, but not Chloe's or Pete's.  
  
He flashed one of his amazing smiles at her.  
  
"It's okay, Lana. I got em."  
  
"Okay."  
  
And with that she hurried through the others to save some spots on the bus.  
  
*~*~*(this was the original ending to this chapter, but i thought it was too short. lol. thank me L8r (o: )*~*~*  
  
Sure enough, Lana found some seats in the very back of the bus and saved them while her friends slowly made their way towards her.  
  
After they set their baggage down, Chloe sat in the seats across the row from where Lana was sitting and Pete quickly took the place next to her sending Clark a quick wink.  
  
Clark gave Pete a look that said, "You never stop playing Mr. Matchmaker do you?" and nervously sat down next to Lana who smiled at him happily.  
  
"Okay, so what's this you have to tell us?" Chloe asked curiously. "Pete said it's Wall Of Weird material."  
  
"Sure is," Pete agreed seriously.  
  
"Well, what happened?" Lana asked eagerly as the bus started forward.  
  
"I'm telling you, it's nuts. You'll think I'm crazy," Pete warned.  
  
"Just tell us already!" Chloe pratically yelled.  
  
"Alright, alright. Okay, so I'm in the train sleeping, right? And I hear this funny noise like a flute. And people laughing. So I wake up and I'm looking around trying to find out where this noise is coming from and it leads me off the train and out into the forest. And when I'm about halfway in, it becomes quiet. So all the sudden it hits me that I'm out here all by myself and I turn to head back and I see this - this man. At least I think it's a man. It's wearing this black cape to cover its face and it just kind of launched itself at my throat - not really at me - he just wanted my throat. And it was laughing too. A really creepy laugh. Right before he got hold of me, I screamed for help and then he got my throat. I struggled for a few minutes and then it dropped me when Clark came."  
  
Chloe and Lana stared at Pete in awe.  
  
"Wow," Chloe stated dumbfoundedly.  
  
"Why did you go out in the forest in the first place?" Lana asked detectively.  
  
"I don't know. The flute sound just sort of lead me out there. And the laughing sounded like some other students messing around and I wanted to know what was going on."  
  
"Are you sure you didn't see any part of its face at all?" Chloe wondered.  
  
"No, no it was - it was almost like it didn't have a face. Like it was invisible or something."  
  
"Maybe some one else found that invisibility stuff that Jeff discovered a while back in Smallville," Chloe guessed logically.  
  
"But this is a totally diffrent state. And that wouldn't explain the weird sound leading Pete out into the forest," Clark answered sensibly.  
  
"Well, I guess we never get a break from weirdness," Chloe admited showing a confused smile.  
  
"We should keep this to ourselves for now, though. Just until we figure out more about this thing," Lana informed tactfully.  
  
"Right. Maybe at the museum we'll find something about it," Clark said agreeably.  
  
Everyone else silently agreed and the back of the bus became quiet.  
  
Clark tried to lay back and relax, but the Eerie roads were extremely bumpy. Plus, he couldn't get he mind off Pete and his attacker. Was it really an invisible man who lead Pete out to the wilderness and nearly choked him to death?  
  
Suddenly a partically large bump knocked Clark out of his thoughts. Lana had also been unprepared for this and her hand jumped onto his sqeezing it gently.  
  
Clark looked from their hands to Lana's face. She grew slightly redder and reluctantly slid her hand off his.  
  
He smiled at her pointlessly. She returned it and then quickly looked over at the window.  
  
Clark looked away from her and sighed.  
  
He had felt the flirtatious way she let go of his hand and suddenly realized that maybe he should stop waiting for an opportunity to make a move on Lana. Maybe he should create one.  
  
Yeah, that's what he should do. Lana wasn't going to wait forever. He then promised himself that by the end of the trip, Lana would definitely notice his feelings for her.  
  
And he would start as soon as the bus stopped in front of the mansion.  
  
*~*~*  
  
A.n. i'll try to update soon!! school sux rite now so i don't hava lot of free time to keep writing this. i promise i will finish it tho! :o)  
  
review! 


	5. ChApTeR FiVe

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
A.n. this is a pretty big update :o) i really didn't mean to make it this long, but i hadda fit everything i wanted to in it so kinda just ended up like this. nice bit of clana in it if i do say so myself *winks at all the clana shippers*  
  
thanx sooo much for the reviews! u rock. as for those of u who haven't reviewed yet, i will quote my band teacher:  
  
"If you don't do it I'm going to hang you up by your big toe and laugh you and call you funny names!"  
  
lol. while that does sound slightly violent for a catholic school band teacher, she was only kidding...i think.  
  
anywayz, enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
After a few minutes, the bus finally pulled into a gravel drive and descended toward it's stop in front of an old stone mansion. The brick that made up the better half of the building seemed at least fifty years old and the windows were dingy and dark. The entrance was a great weather-beatened oak door. All to together it looked exactly like a Scottish mansion obviously owned by the billionaire Lex Luthor.  
  
Oddly enough, it also looked a little like the black house from Clark's dream. He shook it off. It had only been a dream. Besides, the bus was about to stop. He had other things to think about.  
  
When the bus did park in front of the place, Clark quickly got up letting Lana get off before him.  
  
"I'll get your stuff," he offered grabbing both his and Lana's bags.  
  
"Clark, you don't have to do that," Lana agrued.  
  
"I want to. Just go ahead and I'll catch up," Clark insisted smiling.  
  
Lana gave him a short look of confusion but quickly covered it up with a grin and followed the others off the bus.  
  
Clark just stared at her for a while but then jumped back to life when he realized he was blocking Chloe and Pete's way of getting out.  
  
"Alright everyone! If you could be quiet for just a second!" Mr. McDaniels asked politely as he made sure all the students were off the bus.  
  
The kids continued to talk.  
  
"HEY!"  
  
The gossip suddenly ceased.  
  
"Thank you," Mr. McDaniels said going back to his original voice tone."Now, as you might've guessed, this house is huge as are the rooms. So, I will allow four people to a room as long as they are of the same sex. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
A few kids made smart remarks about this while others knodded their heads in dull agreement.  
  
"Alright then, you may find your roomates and rooms. Then report back down to the lounge right next to the front door when you are finished unpacking."  
  
There was a buzzing of excitment and everyone eagerly grabbed their partners and rushed into the building.  
  
"Yo Clark!"  
  
Clark whirled around and saw Pete standing next to a kid with short brown spiky hair and hazel eyes. He looked extremely bored and kept swinging his glittering silver watch around his index finger impatiently. His nose was a little crooked and his cheek bones were set higher then normal on his face. It seemed like his cheek muscles were set in such a way that forced his expression to be a permanent frown.  
  
'Well, I'm not getting the weak feeling I get from the meteor rocks,' Clark told himself when he noticed the boy's strange behavior. 'I guess he's alright.'  
  
"Clark, this is Jason Hendricks. Jason, this is my buddy Clark Kent," Pete presented smiling happily as they shook hands.  
  
"Nice to meet you," Clark stated.  
  
"Yea, same to you," Jason replied giving Clark a quick grin.  
  
"Jason is gonna stay in our room with us. Is that alright?" Pete said looking over at Clark for an answer.  
  
"Yeah, sure. That'd be great," Clark agreed with a little fake happiness in his voice.  
  
"Hey Pete! Clark!"  
  
They turned to see Lance running up to them with all his luggage.  
  
"Think you got enough room for me?" he wondered hopefully.  
  
"Uh..." Clark wasn't actually sure he wanted to share a room with Lance the sci-fi lover of all time.  
  
"Sure. We have three already. You make four," Pete said good-naturedly.  
  
Clark was about to pull Pete aside and argue, but he suddenly heard another person call his name.  
  
He looked towards the voice to see Lana rush towards him.  
  
"I'm gonna need my stuff to put in my room."  
  
"Oh, well, I could take it there if you wanted me to. Pete and the others can find a room without me. Right guys?" Clark glanced over at Pete for support.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead," Pete agreed smiling at Clark secretively.  
  
'He's finally makin' some moves,' Pete said in his mind.  
  
Clark followed Lana back to where Chloe and two twin blondes were waiting patiently.  
  
"This is Clark. Clark, these two are Lena and Leah," Lana stated pointing to each one as she said their names.  
  
"Hi," Lena and Leah retorted at the same time. They immediately snapped their heads to face one another in annoyment. It obviously wasn't the first time the two had spoken at the same time.  
  
"Uh - hey," Clark greeted with not even half the enthusiasum that Lena and Leah had.  
  
Chloe began to walk towards the mansion with an irritated expression on her normally peppy face. The twins were definitely getting on her nerves.  
  
"So, uh, where'd you met them?" Clark asked Lana as they followed Chloe. He quickly looked back at the twins to make sure they weren't listening.  
  
"They were on the cheerleading squad last year with me. Truthfully I'm not to fond of them but they asked Chloe and me to stay with them. It's kind of the polite thing to do," Lana admited shrugging.  
  
"Their gonna drive Chloe up the wall," Clark warned smiling at the thought.  
  
Lana silently agreed with that and grinned.  
  
"I have a feeling she'll be spending alot of time away from our room."  
  
"Well, you and Chloe are both welcome anytime to my room. I don't think I'll be having much fun there either. Pete met this weird kid Jason. And then Lance asked if he could be in our room too," Clark explained weakly.  
  
"Just relax and think of the good things, Clark. We're finally out of Smallville and away from all the confusion about meteors. Think of this as an adventure," Lana proclaimed happily.  
  
"Oh I definitely think this is going to be an adventure alright. Especially with that thing that attacked Pete still on the loose." Clark sighed with frustration.  
  
"Cheer up, Clark. We'll find out what did it," Lana promised supportively.  
  
Clark looked over at her hopefully.  
  
'Creat a moment, create a moment, create a moment,' Clark keep telling himself repeatively.  
  
But his thoughts were cut off when he entered the building. A thick smell of rust and dirt hit his senses so hard he coughed slightly. Everything was old and wooden. Century-old paintings hung crookedly on the walls. A bulky chipped staircase lead up to the second level. An extremely detailed rattlesnake was carved into the railing weaving around the pilars of wood and stopping at the very end of the steps. The lounge Mr. McDaniels had been talking about was on the other side of the staircase. It too looked equally dirty and old.  
  
"Do we really wanna stay here?" Chloe asked rhetorically.  
  
"We better hurry and find a good room," Lana urged bravely climbing the stairs.  
  
Clark, Chloe, and the twins followed her reluctantly.  
  
When they reached the top, they found an abandoned hallway that stretched from the left to the right with a dirt-filled pale window at each end. The silk transparent curtains fluttered hauntingly.  
  
"This is really starting to look unappealing," Chloe blurted out meekly.  
  
Clark brushed past Chloe and went towards the left. The others stayed still on the last few steps waiting. Clark cautiously turned the brass knob of the nearest door and opened as it issued a sharp squeaking sound. As he entered the room, the girls felt it was now safe to follow Clark's footsteps.  
  
It looked like a standard sized hotel room with two bunk beds and a small television. Thick black curtains were draped over the large window which stood from the top of the wall to the very bottom. There was even a small door near one of the beds which lead to a small - but clean - restroom.  
  
"Is that a bathroom?" Either Lena or Leah (Clark couldn't tell the diffrence) asked with her perky voice.  
  
"Yeah," he confirmed flatly.  
  
"I'm sold. This room is great! How about you guys?" She turned to her sister, Chloe, and Lana who were all wearing blank stares.  
  
"Uh...it's...a little shabby don't you think?" Chloe wondered looking around again.  
  
Inches of dust were spread all over the furniture and there was a small split in the wall behind the television. The pipes in the bathroom were clearly visable and very rusty.  
  
"Listen, this room has to be one of the only ones with a bathroom that actually has toliet paper and everyone else is too scared to come up here so we have the entire floor to ourselves," the blonde reasoned brightly.  
  
"Well do you think there's a reason why everyone's too freaked out to come up here?" Chloe snapped back harshly.  
  
'Yup, Chloe is gonna explode by the end of the week,' Clark told himself smiling dumbly.  
  
"Come on Chloe. Just give it a chance. It can't be that bad," Clark stated truthfully.  
  
Chloe glared at him with defeat realizing that they were not moving to a diffrent room.  
  
"Fine, whatever. Just don't come crawling to me when the bed bugs start biting," Chloe said menacingly as she plopped her things onto one of the top bunks.  
  
Lena and Leah looked at each other in surprise by Chloe's last remark.  
  
Clark, however, hadn't even took notice of it. He was carefully laying Lana's things down on the bunk below Chloe's. He ducked down to place it on her bed and when he stood back up he met with Lana standing right next to his side.  
  
"Thanks," Lana said graciously not meaning to stand this close to him.  
  
"Yeah, it's - uh - it's no problem. Really," Clark answered modestly staring deeply in her eyes.  
  
He so desperately wanted to make a moment just then but he remembered Pete and the others.  
  
"I gotta go catch up with Pete. I'll met you downstairs," he proposed talking mainly to Lana although he looked around at the other girls as he said it in order to be polite.  
  
"Great," Lena spoke up as she set out all her many hair products on the dresser next to her bed.  
  
Clark gaved one last smile to Lana and then headed out the door to find Pete.  
  
*~*~*  
  
After Clark caught up with Pete, Lance, and Jason (who had decided to also take a room up in the surprisingly empty second floor), they all made their way down to the library where Mr. McDaniels and a few other students sat waiting for the rest of the group.  
  
In a few minutes, everyone was there and Mr. McDaniels made a quick speech about how their trip to the museum was a learning experience and Ms. Morgan (the art teacher for most of the Smallville students) requested that all her students write a two page report about one artist that they saw in the building. Everyone in Clark's class except for Jason and Lana (the two smarter students in the sophmore class who took 3D art with Mr. Handly) were in her art class. All of them groaned in disappointment.  
  
But soon after that, Mr. McDaniels ordered everyone back on board the bus. Chloe practically dove into the seat next to Lance hoping she could question him about the mysterious disappearance of the four Smallville students in Eerie ten years ago (and also to get away from Lena and Leah who sat with their giggling cheerleader friends). Pete and Jason sat together which left Clark and Lana once again in the same seat with each other.  
  
"This is going to be a total and complete drag. Not only do have to listen to what they tell us about the stuff in this museum, but I also have to write a paper about it," Clark complained down-heartedly.  
  
"It's not as bad as it seems, Clark. You never know if this place could actually turn out to be pretty cool," Lana explained smartly. "And, if you need help with the paper, I'm sure I could give you some pointers."  
  
"Really? That would be great," Clark said feeling much better then he had a few seconds ago.  
  
"Yeah. It'll definitely make up for all the times you got me through those dreaded algebra assignments. I owe you one."  
  
'Create a moment, create a moment,' the words were being tattooed into his brain.  
  
Slowly and with determination, Clark advanced his fingers over to the other side of the leather seat letting them touch Lana's hand softly.  
  
She looked down at their postion with bewilderment but then looked back up and shared Clark's smile.  
  
He let out a relieved sigh.  
  
'That wasn't too hard,' Clark admited to himself. 'Now all I need to figure out is how to stop these butterflies from swirling around in my stomache.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
hehe. don't ya just love clana? :o)  
  
o and just a little info: i got the idea of the character Jason from my history teacher who is also named Jason. He's 23 and just about everyone in my class thinks he's cute (yuck! i think not! lol). but the way i described jason in this story is exactly how he looks. u'll just hafta read and find out if turns out to be a good friend or a bad enemy :o)  
  
also, the character Lance is one of my friends (also named Lance - go figure), the art teacher Ms. Morgan is my art teacher, and Mr. McDaniels is in reality my school's principal! hehe.  
  
don't ask where Lena and Leah came from...I don't know any blonde twins...lol  
  
now that u kno these bits of useless information to infect your growing mind, REVIEW! 


	6. ChApTeR SiX

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
A.n. i am SO sorry i haven't updated. before i even started posting this i had like the first six chapters done and i figured i'd finish the rest after i got it started on ff.net - wrong. my teacher's at school decided to bombard me with homeowork a.k.a. torture and quizzes a.k.a. tests to tell if i've done my torture. so the whole thing in a nutshell is: i may not update for a while due to my overload of hw  
  
but i did put some nice clana in here for ya ;o)  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
They were halfway through the museum tour and already Clark felt tired. Their guide, a tall thin droning man, continued his speech on the painting nearest to him with no emotion what so ever. Clark checked his watch every ten seconds wishing with all his heart that the tour would end soon.  
  
He glanced over at Chloe who amazingly looked interested in what the sleepy guide was describing. Her notebook was out and her pen was eagerly flying cross the page scribbling furiously.  
  
"This sucks," Pete whispered to Clark when Mr. McDaniels wasn't looking.  
  
"Tell me about it. How can Chloe stand this? Even the guide looks bored," Clark commented staring at the man babbling on about the Byzantine Empire.  
  
"Why don't we skip?" Pete suggested bluttly.  
  
"Skip? Are you crazy? We're already getting detention for 'mingling'," Clark reminded truthfully.  
  
"I know that. But who said Mr. McDaniels will catch us? Come on, it'll be fun!"  
  
"What about our paper?" Clark asked worriedly.  
  
Pete sighed. Clark was such a teacher's pet.  
  
"Chloe's takin' enough notes for the entire school. We can just ask if we can borrow 'em tonight," Pete reasoned brightly noticing Clark's discomfort begin to subside. "What do you say?"  
  
Clark swallowed and took one more look at the guide and Mr. McDaniels who let out a small yawn.  
  
"Alright," Clark answered before he could stop himself.  
  
Pete smiled and then beckoned Clark to the back of the group.  
  
As they made their way back, Clark saw Lana over to the right of them. She blended in easily with all the other students who were bored out of their mind.  
  
"Hold up, Pete," Clark shouted softly.  
  
Pete stopped and Clark turned back towards Lana.  
  
"Lana!" he whispered loudly. "Pssst! Lana!"  
  
She slowly turned around and saw Clark mouthing the words 'Come here'.  
  
After she reached him she noticed Pete was beside Clark and smiling unusually.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"We're skipping the tour. Wanna join?"  
  
"What? We can't -"  
  
"Chloe's engrossed in this stuff. She'll tell us all about it later," Clark informed hardly believing what he was saying.  
  
"But how will we know when the tour's over? If we miss the bus we won't be able to get back."  
  
"If we accidently come back late we can make up something about getting left behind in the bathroom or something," Pete said keenly.  
  
"Listen Lana, you don't have to come with us. Forcing you to break the rules isn't really fair...," Clark admited giving her the cutest most pitiful look in the world. "But it wouldn't be as fun without you."  
  
Lana opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it and lifted her chin proudly.  
  
"What are taking about? I'm totally coming with you guys!"  
  
Clark smiled excitedly and Pete put a finger to his lips to quiet them down. He then knodded his head towards the exit and they all rushed out happily.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Anybody got any money?" Pete asked walking backwards on the pavement to look back at his friends.  
  
"I got five dollars," Clark stated weakly holding up his money.  
  
"I have thirty," Lana said confidently.  
  
"Geez, we might as well call you Ms. Moneybags," Pete joked glared at Lana's many dollar bills.  
  
Lana laughed,"I don't think money really helps when we don't even know where we're going in the first place."  
  
"We can't go far. The tour will end in about an hour," Clark warned sturnly.  
  
"Oh please, Clark. The last thing you're suppose to do when you skip is worry about when to go back. Just sit back and enjoy the ride." Pete then whirled around and took off down the road.  
  
Clark and Lana looked at each other and then darted after him.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"This stuff tastes GREAT!" Pete paraded loudly as he licked his chocolate ice cream cone happily.  
  
"Sure does," Clark retorted brightly.  
  
The three friends walked along the sidewalk wanderingly finishing off their ice cream (Lana's treat) until they came to a small park area which had a some sort of festival going on. Clowns with balloons were entertaining the kids while their parents strolled around the place looking at all the small shops and food.  
  
"Sweet! Look, they got games over there!" Pete practically squealed with delight.  
  
They all rushed over to the many carnival games over near a fountain with a strong looking stone man standing in the center of it. Water sprayed out of the holes beside his feet and trickled back into the pool of the fountain.  
  
"Whoa check out that chick behind the basketball hoop game," Pete stated glaring at an attractive young girl who retrieved a ball for a man who was eagerly trying to make as many baskets as he could within his time limit. "See you guys later!"  
  
Clark felt a little nervous at first when Pete left him and Lana alone. They didn't exactly know what to say.  
  
"So, what do you wanna do?" Clark asked Lana curiously.  
  
"I don't know. Carnivals aren't really my thing," Lana said shrugging a little.  
  
"Yea, they're a little too hectic for me," Clark agreed as Lana knodded. "Uh, do you wanna sit down by the fountain?"  
  
"Sure," Lana replied as she followed Clark to the bubbling pool of water and sat down beside him on the marble edge of the fountain.  
  
"Here," Clark said handing her a shiny copper penny.  
  
"What's this for?" she asked obliviously.  
  
"It's so you can make a wish in the fountain," Clark informed brightly. "I figured with all those bills in your pocket that you didn't have any change."  
  
Lana laughed at Clark's small joke as he blushed slighty and forced his stare towards the ground. She closed her eyes cautiously, thought of the perfect wish, and through the coin behind her.  
  
Clark looked up as he heard the definite 'plop' of the penny as it hit the water and sunk in to the bottom to join the other currency. Lana was smiling at him sweetly.  
  
'What if that wish was about me?' Clark wondered to himself. 'Yea right, Clark. She has tons of other more important things to wish for then you.'  
  
Lana was still looking at him. It sort of made him a little weak. Not meteor-exposure weak. No, this was a different kind of weak. A I-think-she- likes-me-more-then-a-friend weak. Clark swallowed carefully.  
  
'Clark - MAKE A MOMENT! Create a moment or lose her forever!' a voice in his head screamed at him.  
  
Slowly and with a determined heart, he reached his hand out to Lana's face and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.  
  
Lana's expression was a mixture of different things. Excitement, surprise, fear, curiousity,...what exactly made Clark do that?  
  
Clark's hand remained on her cheek. The voice in his head was shrieking for him to kiss her and his heart was racing. Before he knew it his face was leaning towards hers. Their eyes were closing.  
  
"Clark! Lana!"  
  
Both of the kids snapped their eyes open and Clark quickly took his hand from Lana's face.  
  
Pete was rushing towards them with a frightened expression.  
  
"What's wrong?" Clark asked loudly as Pete sped past all the confused bystanders.  
  
"The girl at the basketball game has a boyfriend! And he has a dog named Killer!"  
  
Clark and Lana broke out with laughter and joined Pete in running away from a bulky looking doberman with a spiked colar who wasn't far behind. Drool flew from his massive jaws and he barked predominantly.  
  
Clark knew he could've stopped the dog anytime he wished. But I wouldn't be any fun. He smiled uncontrolably as he heard Lana's beautiful cherubic laughter which tickled him inside.  
  
*~*~*  
  
A.n. yay clana! *does little clana cheer* k, i'll stop now. hope u liked this part. i promise i'll try to type up some more of this story asap! :o) 


	7. ChApTeR SeVeN

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
A.n. hi hi! didn't expect to see an update so soon right? well, i didn't either. but it's short. and i kno how when u hafta wait 100 years for an update from someone that u want it to be nice and long (and full of clana if ur like me! lol). but anywayz, this is just a lil chapter and (sadly) with zip-o clana. but this part, however short, is an important piece of the puzzle. it's when the main characters of the two television shows, Smallville and Eerie, Indiana, finally collide. lol.  
  
very sorry to all ur clana shippers, but i am getting time to write again and last night a discovered this great idea for the rest of the story so the chances of me havin writers block are deminishing. lol. really don't wanna jynx myself tho...  
  
ok well better let u read.  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Clark, Pete, and Lana ran out of breath down the road until they reached a street lined on each side with shops. At the corner was a huge store window which had the name 'World 'O Stuff' painted sloppily on the center. It was surrounded with a bunch of diffrent and odd looking souveniors and toys.  
  
"Sweet! Let's check that place out," Pete complimented cheerfully.  
  
They all crossed the street and made their way to the uniquie shop.  
  
The door opened and made a sharp jingling sound as it hit the silver bell above them. The entire store seemed to be a cross between the Talon and Clark's loft. The walls were covered with shelves of gadgets and arcade games pinging and ponging loudly. A small bar was to the right in front of another big window. Three ceiling fans were twirling above them although Clark couldn't figure out how they would move any air at all at the rate they were going.  
  
The man working behind the bar looked to be around fifty and had a small bushy mustache. He smiled politely as he handed the customers their orders.  
  
"Hey there new-comers!" the man greeted throwing them a childish grin.  
  
"Uh - hi," Clark replied weakly.  
  
"Well, come on in. I'm not gonna bite ya." He quickly added, "At least not today."  
  
The three friends cautiously sat down on the red leathery stools. Clark sat between Pete and another boy. He had red curly hair and freckles. Probably around nine or ten years old.  
  
"So, what're your names?" the bartender asked nicely.  
  
"I'm Pete and this is Lana and that's Clark," Pete explained pointing to everyone as he said their names.  
  
"Well, nice to meet all you kids. They call me Radford around here. I own this shop. And those two sitting next to you are Simon and Marshall - my devoted customers," the man said acknowledging the kids.  
  
"Hey," Simon, the red-head, said smiling.  
  
"What brings you to this town?" Marshall asked curiously.  
  
Marshall had dark colored hair that was just a tad longer then Clark's with a short of punk look to him. Clark guessed he was around thirteen years old.  
  
Minutes flew by as Pete told them about their trip from Smallville, Kansas and how they had been sight-seeing for a while (he failed to mention their playing hookie).  
  
"Did you say Smallville?" Marshall wondered seriously.  
  
"Yea."  
  
"Smallville, Kansas?"  
  
"Yea. Why?"  
  
Simon and Marshall exchanged looks and then stared back at them with slight terror in their eyes.  
  
"We heard there's all kinds of creepy stuff going on there. Suppose to be caused by the meteor shower that hit in 1989."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. Our friend Chloe is practically obsessed with it," Lana retorted taking a small sip from the glass of ice water Radford had given her free of charge.  
  
"Chloe Sullivan?" Simon asked unbelievably his eyes growingly slightly wider.  
  
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Clark said shocked.  
  
"We saw her website online. We've been wanting to take a trip there for months," Marshall said amazingly.  
  
"Take a trip to Smallville? What could possibly be of interest to you guys in Smallville?" Pete asked doubtfully.  
  
"It's the only other town we've found that relates to ours. Meteor freaks and other strange happenings. You know - stuff that people won't believe unless they see it themselves."  
  
"Eerie can't be as bad as Smallville," Pete exclaimed firmly holding his ground.  
  
"Eerie's Worse," Marshall retorted firmly.  
  
"Much worse," Simon added seriously.  
  
It was now Lana, Pete, and Clark's turn to exchange looks.  
  
"No one believes us," Marshall continued as he played around with the straw in his soda. "But Eerie is the center of weirdness for the entire planet."  
  
"You two wouldn't by any chance host a site all about this weirdness would you?" Clark asked ponderingly.  
  
"Yeah, we started it a few weeks ago. Why?"  
  
"I think we could use your help on something," Clark replied looking over at Pete who sat dumbfounded.  
  
*~*~*  
  
hope u liked it and i promise that my next update will be longer and clana- filled.  
  
thanx 4 the reviews! pleez send more 2 me soon!:o) 


	8. ChAtPeR EiGhT

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
A.n. holler! i had monday off school and i spent most of the day writing this fic! i added like three more chapters or something (with implied clana. lol).  
  
also, in my honors english class today we learned the how to use commas correctly! :o) maybe i won't have as many mistakes in my chapters now. pesky little commas are no match for me! Yaaa!!! *screams like the U.S. presidental canidate Howard Dean and chases after a flock of nearby commas* brief pause. *looks at reader's shocked face* right, sooo if i get some reviews, i may update pretty quickly. :o)  
  
clana rating for this chapter...hmmm...around 4/5...hehe  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Chloe waited eagerly by the bus looking over all the crowds of people. Clark was always one of the tallest ones, yet this time she couldn't see his face anywhere. Pete and Lana were both missing too.  
  
"Ms. Sullivan, please get on board the bus or you'll be left behind," Mr. McDaniels informed as he stood by the door of the vehicle and watched the students file in and take a seat.  
  
"I will but I can't find -" Chloe suddenly stopped. If she told Mr. McDaniels about her friends being missing, they might get detention. Pete and Clark were already on bad terms with Mr. McDaniels. She didn't want to make things worse. And this way, Pete, Clark, and Lana would owe her one.  
  
"You can't find what?"  
  
"I can't find - my pen. Oh! Here it is!" Chloe lied weakly as she pretended to discover her missing pen which was tucked safely in the sprial of her notebook.  
  
"That's great, Ms. Sullivan. Now get on the bus please."  
  
Chloe sighed and simpered at her teacher as she passed him on the metal steps of the bus.  
  
"Chloe! Over here!" Lance shouted quickly beckoning Chloe over to a seat towards the back.  
  
"Hey, have you seen Pete, Clark, or Lana?" Chloe asked intently as she sat down.  
  
"Nope. They're probably messin' around in the museum or somethin'," Lance inquired with barely any emotion at all.  
  
"Yeah, probably," Chloe retorted doubtfully knodding.  
  
Lance looked over at her mysteriously.  
  
"Of course, they could've also - disappeared. If ya know what I mean," Lance stated with a devilish smirk.  
  
Chloe had a slight look of shock come across her face.  
  
Lance quickly changed his expression to a nice, reassuring look.  
  
"But I'm sure their fine."  
  
Chloe smiled meekly and then looked away. Lance definitely was not a helpful guy.  
  
(a.n. u people who haven't seen eerie, indiana may get a little confused about what chloe sees on this bus trip. but i couldn't not put it in here - i must show the essence of eerie!)  
  
The bus slowly made its way downtown. They passed houses and buildings all of which looked old and unoccupied. It was very strange. Even the pedestrians on the sidewalk looked weird. They stared straight ahead and walked in a sort of slow motion type way. They didn't greet anyone as they passed or smile politely. They just stared.  
  
The bus turned and began down a road which had dozens of identical houses all lined up on each side. Everyone bore a thick coat of whitewash with deep red shutters and a brown wooden door. The house's paint was so fresh it looked as if it had just been put on a few hours before. Their lawns were perfectly cut and green.  
  
'Almost too green,' Chloe observed to herself.  
  
As Chloe comtemplated on the oddity of the grass, a team of basketball players wearing deep, navy blue jerseys with large, yellow numbers on the back strolled down the street. They were walking one behind the other with a basketball in their right hands. They all dribbled them in perfect sychronized motion as if they were programed robots. When it hit the ground, it made one swift pop instead of a collection of diffrent bounces.  
  
"What's with them?" Lance asked curiously as the they passed the players who stared unblinkingly at the bus crowded with confused Smallville students.  
  
"Must be some new sort of practice," Chloe guessed even though secretly she was just as freaked out as Lance.  
  
They continued down the road until Lance spoke again.  
  
"Check it out!" he stated unbelievably. "It's Elvis Presley!"  
  
(a.n. if u don't know who elvis is - which i'm not sure why u wouldn't - he's a singer considered to be the king of rock n roll. rock on elvis (o: )  
  
"What?" Chloe spoke out looking out the window to see for herself.  
  
Chloe was almost positive it wasn't the real Elvis - he was dead of course - but this man sure did look like him. His hair was slick and combed in the exact way as The King would've fixed it. He wore large dark sunglasses and even stood like Elvis (if that was possible). The only diffrence was that he was wearing a maroon colored bath robe and bunny slippers instead of a high collared jacket and blue swade shoes.  
  
"That can't be Elvis," she said aloud with a slight doubtfullness in her voice.  
  
"This town is wacked. They even got dead people livin' here," Lance admited ignoring what Chloe had just stated.  
  
Chloe swallowed. Maybe those kids on the internet were telling the truth. Eerie was weird. Maybe even weirder then Smallville.  
  
*~*~*  
  
As soon as Clark told Marshall and Simon about Pete and his encounter with the soul-sucking Grim Reaper, they immediately bombarded Pete with questions in a tone that reminded Clark very much of Chloe interviewing someone with a hot story. He and Lana were suddenly pushed out of the conversation.  
  
Clark slid off his stool and moved over towards Lana.  
  
'Moment-making time,' he told himself encouragingly.  
  
"Hey, wanna play pinball?" he asked with a nervous smile.  
  
"Well, I don't know...I've never really played one before," Lana spoke up embarassingly.  
  
"That's okay. You could watch me. I could teach you," Clark offered kindly." I mean we really didn't get to do anything together at the carnival..."  
  
Clark punched himself for bringing that up. Now it sounded like he was hitting on her.  
  
'Is that really a bad thing?' Clark wondered in his mind.  
  
"I guess I could try. Never hurts, right?"  
  
"Right," Clark confirmed with a smile as he and Lana left the bar and went off to find an open arcade game.  
  
"Here, Spitfire. This one's a classic." Clark slipped a dime into the slot of the machine and it suddenly sprang to life. Multicolored lights flashed on and off and the scoreboard rolled down to zero.  
  
For a few minutes, Lana watched intently as Clark swatted the small metal balls which ricocheted off the walls as the his score doubled and tripled. When the game finally ended, Clark looked over at Lana who was smiling at him uncontrollably.  
  
"Great job, Clark. That has to be a high score."  
  
"Yeah, well, I bet you could do better," Clark purposed moving a side and slipping another dime into the machine.  
  
"No, Clark. I'd suck. Seriously," Lana admited laughing at herself.  
  
"Just pull this out and let go when you want the first ball to come out," he explained pointing towards the metal knob on the side of the game.  
  
Lana grabbed it, pulled, and barely got the ball to rise an inch.  
  
"Here, I'll help you," Clark offered as he wrapped his hand around the back of hers and curled it around the knob. He added slightly pressure and the ball sprang into play.  
  
"Now what do I do?" she asked bewilderedly.  
  
"Use these buttons on the sides, here," Clark said placing her hands on either side of the arcade game."They operate the little pedals down there that hit the ball."  
  
Lana was barely conscious of the game. She was more preoccupied with Clark who would every so often push her fingers sweetly so the little pedal would swat the ball and score an unbelievable amount of points. His head was leaning slightly over her shoulder so he could watch the game closely. Although Clark didn't look it, she could tell he was extremely nervous by his uneasy breathing and racing heart beat.  
  
The game finally ended, but Clark didn't move. He turned his head to look at Lana. They hadn't been this close since they were thrown together on the train a few hours ago. The intensity of the moment was rising rapidly.  
  
"And - that's - how you play pinball," Clark confirmed forcing himself to keep eye contact with her.  
  
"I have to admit - it was alot more fun then it sounded," she said glancing at his lips every few seconds. They looked so welcoming.  
  
'Finish the moment! Kiss her!' the voice sqealed loudly in Clark's head.  
  
"I hope you three have a very good excuse for being here before everyone else."  
  
Clark and Lana leaped apart suddenly and turned towards the door. Pete spun around on his stool with half a chicken sandwich wedged in his hungry mouth. All their hearts fell like lead balloons when they saw who it was.  
  
Mr. McDaniels glared down at them menacingly.  
  
*~*~*  
  
pleez don't kill me...i hadda do it! i just had to! lol  
  
thanx 4 the reviews! pleez send more 2 me soon and the next correctly-used- comma chapter will be up asap! :o)  
  
o and Knight/m...Lex will be appearing in this fic soon so be on the look out! lol  
  
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, o no! the commas are coming after me now! ahhhh!!!!  
  
lol. k i'll stop.  
  
,,,,,,, (hehe) 


	9. ChApTeR NiNe

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. hey people!  
  
well, here's a new chapter! the storyline is finally evolving (after multiple drafts and editing made by me). i wanted to get it juuuust right before i sent it onto ff.net.  
  
thanx for all these reviews guys! really means alot! i swear i wouldn't have gotten this far without u!  
  
CLANA SHIPPERS NOTE: unfortunately, there is no clana in this chapter *joins all shippers in a saddened look*. i just had to start writting the actual plot (which isn't clana *ducks as a brick thrown by an angry CL shipper flys past*). but, i've been writting more of this fic and i can tell u right now - the clana WILL come!!! :o)  
  
so keep R&Ring!! enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
"You leave your compartment to get together with Ms. Lang at six in morning, you linger behind the group when I'd strongly urged that everyone stay together and now, Mr. Kent, you decide to ditch the Eerie Museum to hang out in an unfamiliar town with your friends?"  
  
Clark stared blankly up at Mr. McDaniels whose voice practically oozed with anger. He wouldn't be surprised if the teacher just bursted into flames right there in the bus.  
  
"Your friends will be getting a week's worth of detention and you, Mr. Indistructable Kent, will be getting two."  
  
"Two weeks?!" Clark repeated feeling that was extremely unfair.  
  
"But Mr. McDaniels, I told Clark to come with me. He shouldn't hafta pay for something I made him do," Pete informed trying desperately to help his friend.  
  
"You didn't make him do anything, Mr. Ross. Mr. Kent left the museum because he wanted to. Besides, you're already paying for your wrong-doing and so is Ms. Lang."  
  
"But we only have one week of school left, sir. Surely your not going to make me come to school during summer vacation," Clark said nervously. He'd never been in this much trouble. Ever.  
  
"We have this week and we have next week. That's two weeks if I remember correctly, Mr. Kent," Mr. McDaniels explained. "You all will spend the rest of this day and all the following nights at the mansion. If any of you decide to break the rules again, I will have no alternative but to send you home. Is that clear?"  
  
They all reluctantly knodded realizing that the fun and adventure portion of their trip was pretty much finished. Mr. McDaniels turned and stormed back up to the front of the bus whispering something to the driver. The driver knodded swiftly and started up the engine. The bus sqealed and slowly began to take the three friends back to Presidilla Mansion.  
  
"Clark, I'm really really sorry," Pete quickly apologized.  
  
"Forget it. It was my fault Lana got in this," Clark informed depressingly. He turned to Lana,"I'm sorry. I should've never even thought about taking you with us. It was a really stupid idea."  
  
"It's ok, Clark. I mean, it got us in really big trouble, but it was fun," Lana admited smiling widely at Clark as if silently communicating with him.  
  
Pete looked back and forward at both his friends.  
  
"Ok, what happened between you two?"  
  
Clark looked away from Lana suddenly.  
  
"Nothing happened, Pete. We just had some fun is all."  
  
*~*~*  
  
Chloe was bored out of her mind. Her closest friends were now miles from her probably playing cards and laughing while she was sitting in this weird bar drinking whatever the bartender, some guy named Radford, put in her cup. Suddenly she felt a sharp pat on her shoulder.  
  
"Are you Chloe Sullivan?"  
  
She turned to see to young boys with eager looks on their faces.  
  
"Who wants to know?"  
  
"I'm Marshall Teller, this is Simon Holmes. We were talking to your friends earlier," the brown-haired kid explained.  
  
"We're the kids from the website about Eerie," Simon added when he realized that Chloe was not amused.  
  
Chloe face jumped into an excited look as she snatched up her notebook and pencil and flipped it to an empty page.  
  
"I definitely must get an interview from you guys," she said smiling.  
  
"We'll get that all done later. Right now we need your help."  
  
"You want my help?" Chloe slowly lowered her pencil and looked at them strangely. "For what?"  
  
"It's about what happened to your friend, Pete. When he was attacked. We wanna help. We're bascially the only ones who can," Marshall informed reasonably.  
  
"Um...I don't know. This is kind of dangerous. I mean Pete could've died if Clark hadn't scared away the attacker. We may be messing with something that isn't even human," Chloe warned threateningly.  
  
"Believe us when we say that we are totally ready for anything human or non- human," Marshall stated strongly.  
  
Chloe was taken back a little. These kids sounded just like young versions of herself.  
  
"Um...right, okay then. Do either one of you have any information for me to pick up on?" she asked looking at both of their faces for an answer.  
  
Marshall suddenly pulled a large brown envelope out from the inside of his jacket and dropped it on the counter.  
  
Chloe glanced at it curiously.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Information we've picked up from the Eerie Library within the past hour or so. Copies of newspaper clippings, yearbooks,...basically anything weird or out of place that we could find from the year 1994," Marshall explained hopping onto a stool next to Chloe. Simon took a seat on the other side of her.  
  
"Why the year 1994?" Chloe wondered as she slowly opened the package and pulled out a small stack of papers.  
  
"Your friend Clark said that he was told four kids went missing in Eerie ten years ago. Ten years ago would be 1994," Marshall informed as he reached for a certain piece of paper. "Here, check this out."  
  
Chloe took the copied newspaper clipping from Marshall and scanned it professionally. It read:  
  
Four Lost In Eerie Forest by Howard Ford  
  
Early Friday afternoon, while the students of Smallville High School were observing wildlife in the Eerie forest as part of their educational road trip, four of the kids were unexplainably seperated from the group about halfway into the forest. Brad Martin, Nathan Anderson, Josh Dunning, and Diane Sanford were all pronounced missing when a fellow classmate announced that the four were no longer walking behind him as they had been throughout the first half of the walk.  
  
"I remember hearing them laughing and talking and then it was like they just - weren't there anymore," explains sophmore Rick Barret.  
  
A rescue squad was immediately called and after many days of searching, all four were presumed dead.  
  
"We have being looking and will continue to look for these lost souls until they are found and either reunited with their families, or put to rest peacefully in their graves," Police Chief Rod Blaken of the Eerie Police Department confirmed strongly. "We will never give up hope." * - Wednesday, May 8th, 1994  
  
"Wow,...depressing," Chloe commented after she finished reading it.  
  
"Yeah, but the weird part is that Chief Rod Blaken doesn't exisit," Simon stated seriously.  
  
"And how would you know that?" Chloe asked doubtfully.  
  
"We checked the records on the internet. I bet someone's covering up the real story," Marshall explained firmly. "And it's not like it doesn't happen. If you've got the money, you can erase any unwanted story."  
  
Chloe looked at each of the boys and then placed the copied clipping on the bar.  
  
"Listen guys, I can see you really want to help, but this just isn't good enough to work on. I mean maybe the editor of this newspaper accidently misspelled the chief's name. It happens to me all the time."  
  
"You're right. That alone wouldn't get you anywhere except for maybe a first class ticket to Losersville. But look at this," Marshall informed pulling out another piece of paper from the thick stack. "Here's a copy of the four missing kid's yearbook pictures in Smallville 1994."  
  
Chloe took the paper from Marshall and gazed at it. There were five rows of cheesy-smiling teenagers four of which were circled with red permanent marker. The first one, Nathan Anderson, was a short skinny little kid with a boney face and a over exagerated smile. After him was Josh Dunning, a black kid who was wearing a clean looking suit with a crooked bow tie. He seemed very uncomfortable. Next was Brad Martin who had the goofiest looking grin that revealed all his dazzling white teeth. The last circled picture was Diane Sanford. She had dark brown curly hair that was pulled back tightly into a pony tail and her eyes were deep and full of mystery. They were almost a contrast with the rest of her sweet face.  
  
"What's so odd about these?" Chloe wondered when she was finished examining the pictures.  
  
"Nothing really. Except look at this," Marshall stated as Simon handed him a large, jet black, leather-bound book which he opened up to a marked place.  
  
The book made a sharp click as Marshall set it on the counter and pointed at a picture in the center. It was a picture of a bunch of fans at a football game in Eerie. The guy in the very middle of the picture had no shirt on and bore a painted '#1' on his naked chest. His right hand was covered with a huge foam finger and his face was frozen in a fixed state of extreme excitement.  
  
Chloe was about to object as to what this had to do with anything until she noticed the group of fans to the left of the half naked man. Four hyper students - with the same exact features as the four in the previous picture - were clapping eagerly and cheering on their team.  
  
"This yearbook is from 1999. Five years after the kids supposely went missing," Marshall explained seriously. "And even that wouldn't be half as weird if it wasn't for this."  
  
Simon handed him another nicely polished volume of the Eerie yearbook and Marshall flipped it to the desired page number.  
  
Chloe took the book when he was finished and found that he'd been acknowledging a picture of a group of students digging around their school obviously planting something. Two teenage girls stood in the main part of the photo arm-in-arm with a bright smile hidden under the dirt and sweat upon their faces. Once again in the background were the missing four crowded around a hole which had a small tree being lowered slowly into it by a few other kids.  
  
"It doesn't any sense," Chloe admited defeatedly.  
  
"Not at a first glance. Notice that these pictures are years apart, yet these four never seen to age." Chloe scanned the pictures again quickly and realized that what Marshall had just announced was right. "At first, we thought it was the return of Forever Ware."  
  
"Return of what?" Chloe asked bewilderly.  
  
"It's a long unbelievable story," Simon explained with no interest. Obiviously this 'Forever Ware' had not been a good thing.  
  
"Anyways, that's what we figured until we talked to our buddy, Dash - he's the guy with the '#1' on his chest in that picture - who told us he never saw those four standing by him. He also said he had no memory of them ever going to school there," Marshall declared clearly.  
  
"Did anyone in this picture see them?" Chloe asked referring to the tree- planting photo.  
  
"Nope. We talked to a few kids we knew in that one too. And that picture was taken only two years ago."  
  
"Bascially, everyone we've talked to says they never exisited after what happened in the forest," Simon concluded sturnly.  
  
"Yet here it is in perfect color," Chloe observed looking over the pictures once more. "It's almost as if they're -"  
  
"Ghosts that only a camera can capture?" Marshall broke in looking at Chloe to see if he'd guessed right.  
  
Chloe glanced over at him suspiously. How could she actually be doing this? Following a trail that two grade school punks had built for her. Ghosts walking around and going to school? This was insane. This was nuts.  
  
But it wasn't impossible. Her brain suddenly snapped two pieces together.  
  
"Hey Chloe!"  
  
She quickly spun her stool around to see Lance in the doorway of the World 'O Stuff.  
  
"Hey Lance. What's up?" Chloe greeted flashing a friendly smile.  
  
"The bus is leaving now. We better get going," he informed.  
  
Chloe's smile slowly faded. She spun back around to the counter and stared at the two kids with determination.  
  
"Go to the library and find any connections between Howard Ford and either Lionel or Lex Luthor, alright?"  
  
"Howard Ford? The writer of this phony article?" Marshall repeated with immense confusion.  
  
"Yeah and who are Lionel and Lex Luthor?" Simon added folding his arms.  
  
"Just trust me. I'm sure there's a connection somehow," Chloe urged standing up and slipping her notebook and pencil into her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. "Maybe it would explain why Lex bought the mansion."  
  
She began to walk quickly out of the shop. Marshall rushed in front of her.  
  
"Mansion? What're you talking about? What does this have to do with these four kids?" Marshall wondered loudly.  
  
"Chloe we're gonna get left behind!" Lance stated looking out the window of the front door worriedly.  
  
Chloe sighed and looked at Marshall.  
  
"Find the connection," Chloe ordered and then ran out of the bar with Lance to catch up with the bus.  
  
*~*~*  
  
a.n. oooo - the plot thickens!!!! fortunately for me, i kno what's gonna happen *ducks as another brick flys in her direction*  
  
just some more unless info: the four missing kids are four of my other friends. cept i sorta mixed up their real names so nobody hunts them down. lol. but the way i described them is how they look to me :o)  
  
ok, well, now this is the part where u send a review! :o)  
  
*goes and scans next chapter* im seeing some clana in the near future! lol 


	10. ChApTeR TeN

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. new chapter! i've been veerrrry busy. the next chapter might not come for a while...we'll see what happens...  
  
uh oh..i'm seeing some clana in this chappy! :o)  
  
*~*~*  
  
Clark sat silently on his bed in the quiet old mansion. His head leaned against the back of the bed with his long legs crossed and his folded arms resting on his strong chest. He let out a deep sigh.  
  
He must be cursed. There was no other excuse. He tried to make a move on Lana twice and failed both times. He supposed the only way he'd get Lana is if he jumped in front of her, confessed his love, and attacked her lips with his before she could even take another breath.  
  
"I wish it were that easy," Clark thought aloud as he began to close his eyes.  
  
"You wish what was easy?"  
  
Clark shot up and looked towards the door. Lana was standing in front of it with a bright smile.  
  
"N-nothing I just...was thinking to myself," Clark explained. "Uh..come in. Sit down."  
  
He moved his massive legs so Lana could sit delicately on the edge of the bed.  
  
"What's up?" he wondered flashing a short nervous smile.  
  
"I dunno. I just got bored downstairs watching Pete knock on the walls trying to find a secret passage," Lana admited laughing a little.  
  
Clark smiled charmingly. He suddenly lost eye contact with her. This making moment stuff was not going as planned.  
  
"Lana, I wanna apologize..."  
  
"Clark, I already told you on the bus that it wasn't your fault. I chose to skip," Lana assured convincingly.  
  
"No, not about that," Clark said but quickly added, "Not exactly..."  
  
"Clark," Lana broke in moving her head closer to his to gain Clark's attention. "If it isn't about that, then what are you sorry for?"  
  
Clark swallowed and forced his gaze on her.  
  
"I'm sorry about how I've been acting on this trip," he began with slight guilt.  
  
"Why?" Lana wondered as she frowned bewilderedly.  
  
"Because I...I just thought that...if I tried to make a move with you instead of waiting for one that we could...be closer," Clark explained feeling that the more he talked, the more stupid he sounded. "Anyways, I just - I'm sorry I was acting weird. All it did was get us in a load of trouble."  
  
There was a pregnant pause.  
  
"I don't understand, Clark," Lana said slowly trying to process what Clark had just said. "You mean you wanted to carry in my stuff and take me with you when you skipped the museum tour so you could be closer to me?"  
  
'Boy, that sounds really pitiful when she says it like that,' Clark told himself depressingly.  
  
"Yeah. Pretty dumb, huh?"  
  
Lana remained silent for a second.  
  
"No, Clark, it wasn't...dumb...really," Lana exclaimed still numb over what Clark was telling her. "It was actually a little nice for a change."  
  
"Nice?" Clark repeated wondering what made her use that word. He was expecting 'odd' or 'weird'. Not...'nice'.  
  
"Yeah. And kind of cute, too," Lana announced smiling at Clark whose eyes widened a little when he mentioned 'cute'.  
  
"I..um.." Clark tried to think of something to say.  
  
"Most guys would just go right out with it but you...you're diffrent," Lana explained calmly.  
  
"Uh...how so?" he asked sharply hoping his voice wouldn't squeak or he wouldn't pass out from his extreme state of nervousness.  
  
"It's hard to explain," Lana admited leaning away from Clark and shrugging as she added, "You just...are."  
  
The only thing Clark could think of was, "Oh."  
  
Lana giggled and then stood completely up.  
  
"I'm gonna go check on Pete and make sure he hasn't gotten himself taught in a moving wall or something," she joked with a huge smile.  
  
"Right," he agreed. He told himself to smile at her, but somehow all his senses seemed to be caught up in his thoughts. "Uh...see you around."  
  
"Bye."  
  
After a Lana left, Clark glanced out the window with a blank expression and began to rethink what she'd just told him. Did she know he liked her more then a friend? And what was the whole business about him being diffrent? He knew in reality he was diffrent - very diffrent - but Lana didn't know that. So what did she mean by it?  
  
'This is getting too crazy. I'm going crazy over Lana! I have to tell her whether she already knows or not!'  
  
Clark hastily stuffed his hand into the duffle bag next to his bed and pulled out a pad of paper and pen. He flipped it open to the first clean sheet and then thought about what he wanted to say...  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lex relaxed on the brand new leather sofa that had just been shipped over from the very heart of Paris, France. He let his head fall over the top of the couch and his eyelids sank slowly over his eyes. In his right hand was a specially made drink only Lex knew how to create to perfection. A crankling fire was dancing in front of him filling the room with complete warmth.  
  
"Master Luthor, sir - may I come in?"  
  
Lex lifted his head weakly and looked over at the doorway to see Deveril - one of his many butlers.  
  
"Of course you can, Deveril," Lex answered sitting up. "To what do I owe this sudden visit?"  
  
"Just doing my daily cleaning routine, Master Luthor," Julio exlpained with a twang of British accent glazing his voice.  
  
"Deveril, how many times much I urge you to call me Lex?" he asked nicely.  
  
"I'm sorry, Master - Lex," Deveril stated as he pulled in a small cart loading with various cleaning supplies.  
  
Lex smiled to himself and then fell back on to his newly aquainted furniture.  
  
"Lex, sir? You have a new message on your e-mail. Would you like me to read it to you?" Deveril asked as he hovered over his boss's lap top which had been lieing open on his desk.  
  
"Who's it from?"  
  
"Some..uh...center_of_weirdness007."  
  
Lex stood and approached the computer from which Deveril obediently backed away from.  
  
Lex opened the e-mail and scrolled down to read the mysterious message. It read:  
  
dear lex,  
  
you MUST come to eerie, indiana asap. u probably have no idea who we are, just trust us. it's VERY important.  
  
- two concerned citizens  
  
p.s. we kno about your dad and the kids that went missing ten years ago  
  
Lex swallow uneasily.  
  
"Is everything alright, Lex sir?" Deveril wondered trying to break the silence.  
  
"Get a copter ready," Lex commanded flatly.  
  
"A helicopter? Whatever for?"  
  
Lex looked back at Deveril seriously to show to him that he meant business. "I need to get to Eerie, Indiana as soon as possible."  
  
*~*~*  
  
a.n. lex is gettin in this at last! lol.  
  
once again, there is another useless fact: Lex's butler Deveril shares his name with the butler of Sir Carmicheal Clarke - a character in the Agatha Christie book The A.B.C. Murders, which i am reading for school. :o)  
  
okiedokie. please review! i love reviews! get ur friends to review! and tell their friends to review! review review review! lol. ok that was a little greedy but o well. :oP 


	11. ChApTeR ElEvEn

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. guess who's back back back. back again gain gain. spyro's back back back. tell a friend friend friend. lol. i was listenin to eminem before i posted this. can u tell?  
  
okiedokie. all u clana shippers will like this chapter! *winks*  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Chloe!" Lana exclaimed with immense surprise as she quickly closed the book she'd been reading in her bed.  
  
"Hey, Lana," Chloe retorted bluntly.  
  
"Is everything okay?" Lana asked worriedly noticing the disturbed tone in her friend's voice.  
  
Chloe hastily slipped off her coat and threw it onto the bed above Lana.  
  
"Other then the fact that Pete, Clark, and you decided to ditch me at the museum?" Chloe replied firmly throwing a solid stare at her friend.  
  
Lana swallowed, a little taken back.  
  
"Chloe, I - "  
  
"You can save the apology. I would've just been a bore to you all anyway. Besides, some one had to stay behind and look out for you guys right?"  
  
"Chloe, that's not what I was going to - "  
  
"Then what did you want to tell me? I mean, right when I walked through the door downstairs Pete rushed right up to me and wanted to know if he could use my notes because you, Clark, and him were too lazy to stay and take them yourselves," Chloe spat angrily putting her hands on her hips. "Not even a 'Hey, Chloe.' or 'Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened.' And would you believe that I actually covered for you so you wouldn't get in anymore trouble?"  
  
"First of all, I didn't need the notes because I don't have that art class. Second of all, you are way over-reacting. I had no idea Clark and Pete discarded you. If I knew that I would've stayed behind," Lana agrued standing up in her fiery and plopping her book on the table beside her.  
  
"I seriously doubt that, Lana," Chloe answered sharply.  
  
Lana had the sudden urge to slap Chloe, but decided it would do nothing but add on to her detention.  
  
"What is that suppose to mean?"  
  
Chloe sighed loudly and turned to Lana brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes.  
  
"Because Clark wouldn't be there."  
  
Lana's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to say I only left because of Clark?"  
  
"If you haven't noticed the obvious signs he's clumsy sending you, let me fill you in," Chloe said pausing before she continued, "Clark is crushing on you."  
  
Lana was speechless. Of course she noticed Clark's shy attempts at getting her attention. But she no idea anyone else had.  
  
"You think I'm lieing? Lana, the guy's heart beat practically triples when he sees you."  
  
"He's just a friend," Lana explained for what she felt was about the millionth time. Only this time she wasn't so sure what she said was true.  
  
"For now he is. He wants to be more, Lana. He wants to be closer to you." As Chloe said this, everything that Clark had told Lana earlier in his room began flooding back. "That's why he asked you to skip with him."  
  
Lana remained silent just staring at Chloe unbelievably.  
  
"I'm going to go work on my art assignment in private. Tell Pete and Clark that if they need notes they can ask Lance," Chloe informed as she picked up her book bag and stormed out of the room leaving Lana to contemplate things.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Later that night, Pete, Clark, Lance, and Lana were crowded around a small wooden table in the back corner of the lounge with their art books and Lance's notes spread untidily across the surface.  
  
"Whoa, this Picasso dude definitely needs some help with his painting skills," Pete critcized flipping through the book in front of him. "I can't even tell what this is. Looks like a pig...or maybe a mailbox with eyeballs..."  
  
"This is definitely going to take a while," Lance stated dully as he scratched his chin in frustration.  
  
"Yeah, especially without Chloe's notes," Pete added turning the pages in his art book reluctantly.  
  
"Pete, you have to admit - you kind of played her," Lance said honestly.  
  
Pete continued staring down at his book. "Oh come on, she's probably just stressed out. That art crap must've overloaded her brain or something."  
  
"I don't think so, Pete. She practically screamed at me upstairs in our room. She's really upset," Lana informed seriously.  
  
"Can you blame her?" Lance asked sturnly. "If I were you, I'd go up there and at least make an effort to apologize to her."  
  
"What're you? Like her official spokesperson or something? What does this have to do with you?" Pete snapped hotly.  
  
"Calm down, Pete. He's only trying to help," Clark spoke up frowning at Pete's strange behavior.  
  
Pete looked at all his bewildered friends and then sighed as if to let go of all the rage that he'd just built up. "Sorry. I'm sorry...it's that stupid thing in the woods. Ever since the attack happened I've just been so wound-up."  
  
"You mean that laughing-choker-ghost Chloe told me about?" Lance wondered curiously.  
  
"Yeah, probably."  
  
"I think she was trying to do some research on that downtown with these two kids. I walked in on their 'meeting' when the bus came to pick us up."  
  
"Really? What did she find out?" Clark asked for everyone else.  
  
"I don't know. She didn't really share it with me. I did hear her say something about Lex Luthor...and Howard Ford it think was his name..." Lance explained desperately trying to remember what happened earlier that day.  
  
"Lex? He's involved in this?" Pete practically shouted causing a few people to turn their heads.  
  
"Yeah, Pete, he bought this mansion," Clark lied aloud so the bystanders would go back to what they were doing. He then turned to Pete. "Keep it down, Pete. Not everyone knows about this."  
  
"Yeah, well, if Chloe has some information about that forest attacker I'm not gonna let this stupid arguement get in my way of finding out too," Pete exclaimed rising from his seat and quickly leaving the lounge.  
  
*~*~*  
  
As Lex flew safely over the many acres of farmland, he was reminded of the day of the meteor shower when his father, Lionel Luthor, had dragged him up in a helicopter destined for Smallville. That's back when he hated flying and heights. But after the shower Lex's childhood fear had disappeared (along with his hair. hehe.).  
  
Deveril guided the copter through the hazy fog and and clouds.  
  
"You sure you can see through all this?" Lex wondered turning to Deveril hopefully. He supposed his fear of flying wasn't totally exiled.  
  
"No worries, Lex sir. We'll be arriving in Eerie soon," Deveril answered smiling at his master's pointless worrying.  
  
Lex slowly turned back to face the window. He could spot a few miniature- looking buildings through the patches of thick clouds. This e-mail better have been truthful. But how many people actually knew about his father's stay in Eerie? Not many. Whoever had sent that e-mail definitely had to have a good excuse for it.  
  
Lex began to feel slightly dizzy and leaned against the wall of the helicopter closing his eyes. There was nothing he could do now but wait. Only time would tell.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Yes! I'm done!" Lance exclaimed happily as he quickly stood and stacked all his many books.  
  
"That's great, Lance," Clark congratulated dryly.  
  
"What? You need help finishing up yours?" Lance wondered as he picked up his supplies which were heavier then he thought and were quickly plopped back down.  
  
"No, I need help starting it," Clark corrected dropping his pen and rubbing his tired eyes with his palms.  
  
"We've been sitting her for two hours and you're trying to tell me you haven't even started your paper?"  
  
Clark sighed. "Yep."  
  
"Well, I guessed I could - "  
  
"That's okay, Lance. I promised Clark I'd help. You worked too much already."  
  
Clark looked up and saw that the voice was Lana's.  
  
"Uh, ok then. Here's my notes in case you need them," Lance offered nicely handing his carefully written notes to Clark who took them with a short thank you. "I'll go spy - I mean look in - on Chloe and Pete. Make sure they haven't killed each other yet."  
  
Lana and Clark both laughed as Lance made a second attempt at lifting his many books, this time being successful, and waddled out of the lounge.  
  
It was now nine o clock. Everyone else had left the lounge to hang out with their friends and get ready for bed.  
  
Lana and Clark were alone.  
  
As soon as Clark realized this he quickly spoke.  
  
"Um, Lana you don't have to - "  
  
"No, Clark, I told you I would," Lana confirmed before he could even finish. She shifted her chair more closer to Clark's and pulled his book towards herself.  
  
'This should be very entertaining,' Lana told herself happily. This time she had the advantage of knowing Clark's crush on her. She could tell by the look on his face that he knew she did too.  
  
"Ok, so have you picked out which artist you want to write about?" Lana asked simply.  
  
"I - I guess Picasso," Clark replied trying not to sound too dumb.  
  
"Ok, now think of what you want to say about him. What made you pick Pablo Picasso as the topic for your essay?" Lana explained looking at Clark for an answer.  
  
"Um..," Clark eagerly snatched the book and flipped through it. "Well, he...uh...he has a...unique style..."  
  
He glanced over at Lana whose look told him to continue.  
  
"Um..." He was completely blank. Lana's stare was overpowering.  
  
"Well, what makes him unique?" Lana asked helpfully.  
  
"He...he didn't draw things the way they looked...he...uh...he made them look alot...diffrent..."  
  
Lana laughed.  
  
"Ok, that's part of it. But what do his paintings make you think of? How do they make you feel?"  
  
Clark looked at the picture of Picasso's artwork in his book.  
  
"They look scary."  
  
Lana's laughter filled the room making Clark smile a little and redden the tone of his cheeks.  
  
"Well, before you write about the artist, you have to understand them. You have to understand the emotion that they bring to their canvas. Almost to the point where you lose yourself in the colors and get carried away in the painter's world."  
  
There was a short pause.  
  
"That was beautiful," Clark admited not looking away from Lana even once. "Can I use that? All that lost-in-the painter's-world stuff for my paper?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. Anything to help," Lana insisted smiling at Clark as he quickly scribbled down his version of what Lana had just said on his paper.  
  
"Listen, Clark, I...uh...I wanted to talk to you about something other then this essay..." Lana began slowly.  
  
"Ok," Clark retorted setting his pen in the middle of his opened book and looking over at Lana. "What did you want to talk about?"  
  
"About what you were telling me in your room earlier. How you wanted to get closer to me."  
  
Clark was suddenly thrusted into a state of uncomfort. "Wh-what about it?"  
  
"I was thinking more about it and...you're a really great guy. You're always there for me and you get this really cute look when you're nervous or worried about something...," Lana said capturing Clark's eyes in hers. "Like you are right now."  
  
"You...uh..." Clark's head felt like it was spinning. This couldn't be real. Lana wasn't really saying this.  
  
"Clark, when I said you were diffrent, I meant that you act so much more mature then the other guys I've met. You try to avoid going with the in- crowd and you do what you think is right. Your friends are more important then your needs," Lana informed noticing Clark's face blushing with each word. "Alot of girls dig that."  
  
"Boy, I wish that were true," Clark replied finally letting go of Lana's eye contact.  
  
"But it is!" Lana insisted.  
  
"If I were everything you just said, girls would be crawling all over me," he explained laughing along with Lana.  
  
"That's the whole mystery with you Clark. You're so closed off and shy that they all take you for granted."  
  
Clark once again caught Lana's eyes. Her stunning, beautiful eyes.  
  
Suddenly, she leaned forward and gave Clark a short sweet kiss on his cheek. Her touch sent a warm tingle through-out his body.  
  
"Don't ever change, okay?" Lana whispered softly.  
  
"O-okay," Clark answered knodding his head slightly as he spoke.  
  
Lana giggled at Clark's dazed expression.  
  
'Clark really does have a crush on me,' Lana thought unbelievably.'Well, if he's to scared to make a move on me now, I'll just have to help him out.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
a.n. *sighs* sweet clana goodness...isn't it great? lol. please review! i'll try to update asap! :o) 


	12. ChApTeR TwElVe

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. hey ya'll! i just got back from my week long trip to FLoRiDa!!!! it was so much fun. Walt Disney World rox! but anywayz, i'm sorry i didn't update before i left. i know i'm terrible. but i've finally updated so u can now be happy.  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lana made her way back to her room smiling in rememberance of Clark's goofy looking expression as she spoke to him.  
  
'Poor Clark...he's so nice and sweet and no one even notices it,' Lana thought reflectively. 'He just blends in with the crowd.'  
  
Caught in her thoughts of Clark, Lana turned the corner of the hallway and nearly collided with some one lurking in the shadows.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry."  
  
Lana looked up to see the darkened face of Jason.  
  
"You're Lana Lang, right?" he wondered curiously.  
  
"Yeah, yeah and you're Jason."  
  
"Right," Jason confirmed smiling. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing by myself in the hallway at this hour."  
  
"Um, not really. But now that you mention it, it does seem a little weird," Lana admited honestly.  
  
Jason and smiled and then said, "Well, I was kind of escaping the fight that seems to have formed in my room."  
  
"Fight?" Then Lana remembered. "Oh, you mean Chloe and Pete? They're not hurting each other are they?"  
  
"Not so far. Lance walked in and kind of calmed them down a little. I'm more of a pacifist so I left before I saw anything else," Jason exclaimed truthfully.  
  
"The world needs more people like you," Lana stated smiling.  
  
Jason laughed. "I really don't think so. I'm not usually what I appear to be."  
  
Lana stared at him for a while. Slowly, this guy was starting to sound alot like...Clark.  
  
"Um, well, I have to get to bed now." Lana started for his her room.  
  
"Lana?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well...I...I just...it was nice to 'officially' meet you," he replied nicely. "Hopefully we'll see more of each other."  
  
"I'm sure we'll bump into each other every once and a while," Lana admited as she walked through the threshold to her room.  
  
'Well, he's a friendly guy. But of course Clark is much cuter,' Lana told herself as she shut the door smiling at her thoughts.  
  
*~*~*  
  
'Wow, what the heck just happened,' Clark asked himself shocked. 'Did Lana just kiss me? Well, I guess not...I mean she's kissed me on the cheek before but...gosh, why can't I stop smiling?!"  
  
Clark hastily picked up all his things to head up the stairs with a large grin plastered on his happy face.  
  
"I might've guessed you'd be on this trip, Clark."  
  
Clark jumped to see Lex standing in the lounge doorway.  
  
"Lex! What're you doing here?" he asked with plenty of curiosity.  
  
"To tell you truth, I'm not really sure," Lex admited taking a seat in the chair that had previously held Lana's delicate form.  
  
"I don't think I understand," Clark retorted furrowing his brow.  
  
"I recieved an e-mail from 'two concerned citizens' in Eerie, Indiana. It's about a private matter between my father and the work he did here a few years back. I've been trying to find out about it since I heard the remarkable legend," Lex explained seriously.  
  
"Must've been a pretty convincing legend to have to come all the way out here," Clark wondered aloud.  
  
"Well, not many people were aware of what happened. Whoever e-mailed me has to know something about it," Lex then began to change the subject. "So, what was with the goofy smile?"  
  
"Uh?"  
  
"When I walked in here you looked like you one the lottery."  
  
"Oh," Clark said realizing and beginning to move towards the door as if to weasel out of the conversation. "It's nothing."  
  
"It's Lana isn't it?" Lex stated stopping Clark in his footsteps. "You finally made a move on her?"  
  
"No...well, I'm not sure..."  
  
"Well, what happened? Maybe I can help," Lex offered getting comfortable in his chair and giving Clark an intrigued look.  
  
"Uh, okay," Clark started reluctantly. "I...I told myself at the beginning of this trip that I'd make a move on her, and i tried - a few times - but we kept getting interupted."  
  
"You haven't given up have you?"  
  
"Well, sorta. It just didn't work. But earlier today she said what I did was diffrent...and cute...and tonight she kind of...kissed me," Clark blurted out glad to have some one to share the memorable moment with.  
  
"Kind of kissed?"  
  
"It was on the cheek," Clark explained acting like it wasn't a big deal. Inside he was beaming.  
  
"Oh, and that's what you were so excited about when I came in," Lex concluded smiling. "Lana's right: what you did was diffrent."  
  
"But I don't know if it worked."  
  
Lex stood up and put a firm arm on Clark's strong shoulder much like Jonathan did when he had some good advice to tell his son. "Clark, attempting to make a move on her at least showed her you're interested. Her kiss obviously meant she's interested too. Now all you have to do is seal the deal."  
  
Clark smirked. "Easier said then done, Lex."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because I'm not like that. My move-making attempts proved it," Clark claimed backing away from Lex hopelessly.  
  
"What? You're too shy?"  
  
"I - " Clark was about to deny what his friend had just said, but then realized that it was exactly true. "I don't know...I guess..."  
  
"Trust me, Clark. Love means taking risks. If you like her that much nothing should stop you from getting to her," Lex confirmed convincingly.  
  
Clark was about to thank Lex for his advice when her heard a scream.  
  
"Ahhhhh!!! Make it stop!!!! SSTTOPPP!!!"  
  
Lex and Clark exchanged looks.  
  
Lex began, "Sounds like - "  
  
"Chloe," Clark uttered before he shot off towards the stairs determined to save his friend.  
  
*~*~*  
  
please review!!!! i love reviews!!!! PLLEEEAAASSSEEE RREEEVVVIIIEEEWWWW!!!  
  
it's gonna get juicy i swear :o)  
  
p.s. REVIEW! 


	13. ChApTeR ThIrTeEn

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. hi people! i come with an update. school still sux and i have minimal free time. but, i did get on high honor roll and i got an award for it so i'm happy  
  
here's the update. enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
The next day came too quickly. Clark was shocked awake by the sudden impact his face had with Pete's pillow. He drug himself out of bed and into the bathroom slowly remembering all the crazy things that he'd witnessed the day before.  
  
After the bathroom, Clark's next stop was downstairs where the teachers were serving breakfast. He wasn't sure what there was to eat. Then again, he really didn't care.  
  
His mind was far from food. He was thinking about the attacks. And about his relationship with Lana. He thought about each one for so long they were beginning to blend together into one gigantic day dream.  
  
"Watch where your going!" an angry student exclaimed as Clark nearly smashed into him has hoppd down the stairs.  
  
"Sorry." He really had to stop day dreaming about things for too long.  
  
He shuffled his way to the back room which, when he opened the doors, he found to be large spacious place stuffed with as many tables and chairs that it could hold. Everyone was seated except for the teachers who manned the larger tables near the front which bared all the food.  
  
Clark made his way through the breakfast line grabbing anything that looked appealing. He ended up with tray full of bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. He snatched a small glass of milk before he rushed over to join his friends at a table near the back corner of the room.  
  
"Hey guys!"  
  
He sat down next to Lana and Pete. Jason, Lance, and Lena sat on the other side. Clark looked around and noticed that Leah and Chloe were sitting alone together. Pete obviously hadn't solved things with Chloe.  
  
'Never thought she'd go so low as to sit with a cheerleader,' Clark thought.  
  
"Hey Clark!" Lana greeted sincerely.  
  
Clark grinned broadly at her causing Pete roll his eyes.  
  
"We were just talking about the attack on Chloe last night," Lance explained to Clark.  
  
Pete kept his mouth shut and suddenly became very interested in his scrambled eggs.  
  
"Do you have any idea what happened?" Clark asked trying to keep the conversation going.  
  
"No, not really. But I overheard Chloe on her cell phone this morning in our room. I think she's meeting with those kids today," Lana informed as she poked at her french toast with her fork.  
  
"I say we follow her," Lance stated firmly.  
  
"I don't think that's the best idea. What if she catches us?" Lana wondered wanting to know Lance's answer.  
  
Lance swallowed a wad of bacon and replied, "I dunno...play dumb."  
  
"Oh yeah, that'll work with Chloe," Pete agreed sarcastically.  
  
"Listen, I know you guys really wanna know what information Chloe has, but I'm sure if any of it is really important she'll let us know," Lana assured giving the table a long stare.  
  
"I think you're givin' her too much credit," Pete concluded shoveling the remainings of his breakfast into his awaiting mouth.  
  
Lana glared at him unbelievably.  
  
"So, what're we doing today anyway?" Clark asked trying to change the subject quickly.  
  
"Dunno. Mr. McDaniels will probably tell us."  
  
They finished their breakfast and a few minutes after that, they noticed Mr. McDaniels get up and walk out into the middle of the room. His hands were raised as if to silence the place. Surprisingly, it worked.  
  
"Alright. I'm sure you're all eager to get today started so I'll explain what we're doing," he began looking down at a pad of paper in his hand as he slipped on his familiar spectacles. "First, we'll be taking a bus to the Eerie Planetirium. After that, we'll head back to downtown Eerie until five. At that time, we'll be visiting Nelson Park where the Eerie citizens are holding a festival. I'll advice you all to stay in the festival and don't go running off by yourself. At eight we'll head back here. And that seems to be all for today. Any questions?"  
  
"Well, we've already been to the park so we won't be missing out on anything special," Pete mumbled to Lana and Clark - his fellow troublemakers.  
  
"Question, Mr. Ross?" Mr. McDaniels said causing everyone in the room to stare at him.  
  
Pete sunk down into his chair.  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"Alright then. Finish up your breakfast and then meet me in the bus outside."  
  
*~*~*  
  
'This is so stupid. I can't believe I let myself do this,' Lex told himself as he cruised past the numerous Eerie houses in his silver porsche.  
  
Earlier that morning he'd replied to the e-mail he'd recieved the previous the day explaining that he'd reached Eerie and wanted to know how he could learn more about their information. They'd answered not too long after that; they gave him an address and time. Reluctantly, Lex decided he should follow their orders.  
  
When he reached the destination of the place, he noticed that it was a plain white house with a wide porch and beautiful blooming tulips in the flower bed. He slowly stepped out of his car and made his way to the house.  
  
"Hey! Pssst!"  
  
Lex stopped on the porch and turned to see a boy's head peeking around the left corner of the house.  
  
"You're Lex Luthor, right?"  
  
He hesitiated before answering, "Yes."  
  
"Great. Just follow me," said the boy suddenly disappearing from sight.  
  
Lex quickly turned the corner just time to see the boy racing into the garage. He gave out a large sigh and walked briskly towards it.  
  
"Listen, I think I'd like to speak with your parents," Lex explained as he entered the place.  
  
The only light was the sunrays glowing onto the weird objects that were set carefully on a shelf to Lex's right. A creaky desk was opposite this and a short curly haired kid was sitting at it staring at Lex kindly. The boy who had beckoned Lex back into the strange room was standing next to him.  
  
"No. It's us you want to talk to."  
  
Lex suddenly realized.  
  
"Oh no. Don't tell me - you two sent the e-mail?"  
  
Their facial expressions answered his question for him.  
  
"Oh gees," Lex exclaimed as he whirled around and headed for the door. He quickly stopped and changed his direction heading back to them causing the tail of his coat to swish around his knees. "How did you find out about this?"  
  
"Calm down. We're trying to help you," Simon stated standing up afraid that Lex was going to flip the desk over.  
  
Lex glared at them both with serious eyes.  
  
"You better tell me everything you know...now," he said as calmly as his temper would let him.  
  
"We met with Chloe Sullivan if you know her. We're trying to find out what happened to her friend who was attacked. It was something invisble that choked him and it was laughing. We thought it was a ghost so we uncovered this story about four kids who were lost in the forest where Chloe's friend was attacked. But it's a fake and we found out that Howard Ford - the guy who wrote it - works for your father as a chief executive at Luthor Corp."  
  
Lex remained silent for a while and then retorted, "You're right. It's a fake. I found that out a long time ago. My father offered that huge job to Howard and all he had to do was write one phony story. Personally I thought it was very sloppy of him."  
  
Simon and Marshall exchanged looks.  
  
"So, if it was my father who did this, why did you e-mail me?"  
  
"Because, we figured your father wouldn't be open to help us. Surely you know the real story behind it," Marshall stated firmly.  
  
"Please, I know you don't care about us, but we're trying to help Chloe and her friends. If you know them then you'd - "  
  
"I do know Chloe and all her other friends," Lex interuppted strongly as he sat down in the nearest chair. "And that is the only reason why I'm going to tell you what really happened that day."  
  
Marshall and Simon looked at each other and then reluctantly sat down to hear his story.  
  
*~*~*  
  
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! :o) 


	14. ChApTeR FoUrTeEn

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. hey people and happy easter! wow, this story is gettin longer then i thought it would. hopefully it won't get too ridiculous. lol.  
  
thanx so much to all my reviewers you people are great. this story wouldn't have gotten this far without u. thanx bunches. if i could, i would give you each a piece of my beloved easter candy.  
  
but since i can't...*grabs a handful of Hersey kisses and shoves them into mouth and then gulps down another handful of jelly beans*  
  
i just love easter! haha  
  
ok. enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
The day was was slowing ticking by. Clark was one of the few who found the planetirium even remotely fascinating. Most of the students decided to waste their time flicking paper footballs at each other and lingering into the back of the group.  
  
Afterwards, everyone was free to roam downtown as they did yesterday until it was time to head over to the carnival (or in Clark, Pete, and Lana's case, to head back to the mansion for the night).  
  
"Look, there goes Chloe," Pete pointed out seeing his friend hurriedly rush into 'World 'O Stuff'.  
  
Clark noticed Pete and Lance instantly follow Chloe. He scanned around to see where Lana was. He could've sworn he'd seen her not to long ago. He shrugged it off and chased after Pete. They'd tell her what they found out later.  
  
As soon as he walked through the door Pete grabbed his arm and jerked him off to a corner. Chloe was just beginning to sit down in a booth across from Marshall and Simon.  
  
"We can sneak into the booth behind them. Come on," Lance explained as they slyly crossed the room.  
  
The three slid into the booth facing the other side of the room so their backs were against Chloe's on the other side.  
  
"You won't believe what we found out," Simon said with pride.  
  
"Oh really...what would this burst of good news be?" Chloe asked intrigued.  
  
"We talked to Lex Luthor earlier today," Marshall began. "He told us the real story behind the disappearing kids."  
  
There was a brief pause. Then Chloe retorted, "I'm listening."  
  
"Well, turns out that his father, Lionel, did some research a while ago in Eerie. The project was called the 'CTWS' - Confidential Time Warp System. He was planning to create a device that would allow any living thing to move freely through time. Lex wasn't sure why, but he did remember his father asking him to help test it. When Lex turned him down, Lionel shut him out of the operation so he couldn't find out anymore about it.  
  
"But, later on, Lex discovered that Lionel had found four kids willing to test it out. He took them into the woods where the test could work without any distractions. Lex isn't sure how it happened, but the test failed and the kids were lost in time. So, Lionel payed Howard Ford to write a phony story and gave him a promotion as a bribe. The story was covered and no one was hurt."  
  
There was a brief silence after Marshall's story.  
  
"So that's the mystery behind the story..." Chloe pondered this information slowly in her knowledgable mind. "That would explain the kids not aging in the pictures. I mean they could've moved in and out of those points in time within a few seconds. But it doesn't explain the attack on Pete or no one seeing these kids while they were taking the pictures...or the floating objects in my room last night."  
  
After Chloe quickly explained to the boys what happened in her room the night before, the table became a circle of pregnant silence (not the literal meaning or pregnant...lol). Clark, Pete, and Lance were praying the three in the next booth over had not recognized them yet.  
  
"I think we better hit the road. Sounds like they're finished," Lance whispered. The others knodded and got up to exit the building.  
  
"Wait," Chloe said before getting up and stepping infront of her incognito friends. "Clark?"  
  
Clark looked up feeling Chloe's stare stinging inside him heavily.  
  
"What are doing?"  
  
"We...we're just looking around, Chloe," Clark tried to explain. His guilt was shining through like a sore thumb.  
  
"I can't believe you guys. I wouldn't talk to you so you decided to sneak around and spy on me." She shot a glare at Pete. "I suppose this was your idea."  
  
"For your information, Ms. Know-It-All, it was Lance's idea."  
  
"What're trying to drag me down for?" Lance snapped angrily at Pete.  
  
"The point is," Chloe began loudly. "I had been planning on finding out all the facts and then sharing them with you guys and hoping to solve things between us, but obviously the plans have just been canceled."  
  
"Yes - they - have." Pete practically shouted each word individually through clenched teeth. He began to walk towards the exit muttering to himself, "Share-the-information-with-us my foot. She was gonna keep it all to herself. Selfish little..."  
  
Clark looked over at Lance who wore a large frown and quietly followed Pete. Clark then glanced over at Chloe who rolled her eyes and sat back down with Marshall and Simon. He sighed loudly realizing that a few bystanders were staring at him wondering what had just gone on. He smirked grimly at them and then quickly left himself.  
  
'That could've gone better,' he told himself honestly.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lana walked around the jewerly shop in awe as she examined the many cut crystals and sculpted diamonds. They all glittered and twinkled brightly and flowing rainbows danced on the walls behind them.  
  
"It's beautiful isn't it?"  
  
Lana whirled aorund to she Jason smiling down on her sweetly. His strange eyes swirled with the light of the diamonds reflecting them softly.  
  
"Hey, Jason. Yeah, yeah it's amazing."  
  
"My dad use to hang dozens of crystal prisms on the windows in his room. He always said it made him feel like he was in a little piece of heaven," Jason said warmly.  
  
"Wow, I bet it was," Lana agreed moving on to another glass case of jewerly. She suddenly stopped. "Oh my God..."  
  
She was looking at a beautiful ring. Embedded center was a glowing green jewel cut in the shape of a dolphin who was arching its back with pride. The band was obviously gold and had tiny diamonds covering it.  
  
"You like it?" Jason wondered noticing her face.  
  
"Yeah, it's gorgeous," Lana admited through a smile.  
  
Jason grinned also and licked his lips to begin what he wanted to say. "Lana, I've been meaning to ask you..."  
  
"What?" Lana wondered turning fully towards him curiously.  
  
"I...uh...well, ever since I saw you outside of the mansion for the first time, I wanted to get to know you. You just seem so intelligent and nice and...and beautiful."  
  
"Thanks," Lana stated finding herself smiling even more. He was really starting to act very sweet towards her. But why?  
  
"So, anyways, uh... I-I heard about the dance - and n-not that I wanted to ask you to go as m-my date or anything - but, uh...maybe we could go together. Kind of as friends-getting-to-know-each-other?" Jason explained stuttering to the extreme and shifting his weight every few seconds.  
  
"Oh, um..." Lana was obviously caught off guard by this. She had originally planned to get Clark to go with her. Besides, she didn't even know that much about Jason. But he did seem nice...and she didn't want to hurt his feelings...  
  
"Y-you don't have to. I understand we just met and everything. But, maybe you could think it over? We could hang out some more and maybe by the end of the week you'll know me a bit better."  
  
Lana was still having conflicting feelings inside her head, but knodded in agreement anyways.  
  
"Great. Um, I'm gonna go and get something to eat. Would you like to join me?" Jason asked with a hopeful look.  
  
"I-I don't think so. I better get back to my friends." She headed towards the door and turned around long enough to add, "See ya around."  
  
Jason lifted his head and added, "Bye."  
  
When she was out of sight, Jason looked back at the ring with the green dolphin. Then back towards Lana again.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Clark! Wait up! I need to talk to you!"  
  
Clark turned to she Lana rushing up next to him on the sidewalk.  
  
"Hey," he stated glumly shoving his hands in his pockets.  
  
"What's the matter?" she asked sensing his depressed greeting.  
  
"Chloe just exploded at Pete again in the 'World 'O Stuff'. I don't know how we're all going to befriend each other again." he explained walking slowly along the pavement.  
  
"Really? What happened?" Lana wondered interested.  
  
"Well, she got mad because Pete, Lance, and I snuck into the place to listen in on her conversation with Marshall and Simon."  
  
"You mean you actually went through with that?" Lana asked appauled.  
  
"Yeah. I mean how else were we going to find out?" Clark retorted trying to forget what Chloe had said about sharing her information with them later.  
  
"Chloe is a much better friend then you and Pete take her for. I know her. She wouldn't keep information about Pete's attacker away from you guys. Even if you were in a huge rift in your friendship."  
  
"I know. But Lana you've got understand that what we did wasn't illegal or anything. I mean we had every right to walk into that place as Chloe did," Clark said innocently.  
  
"No, Clark, it wasn't illegal. You just distrusted you friend and spied on her," Lana claimed truthfully.  
  
Clark looked down at the ground sadly. Lana was right, Chloe was a great friend and he took advantage of her. He noticed Lana walking angrily away from him out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"Wait, Lana!"  
  
She turned to him.  
  
"Wasn't there something you were going to tell me?"  
  
She shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore."  
  
Clark let out another large sigh as she wisked away.  
  
*~*~*  
  
i kno i kno! u clana shippers hate me! but pleez don't stop reading! it's not over yet! and it won't get finished unless u review! so - REVIEW! :o) 


	15. ChApTeR FiFtEeN

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. hey guys! Muchas gracias for all the muy amable reviews! i am a very happy person!  
  
o and i just wanted to also say, since my honors english class is teaching me how to actually write with correct grammar, i'm offering to be a beta reader for any of writers out who feel they need one. just ta throw that out there ;o)  
  
ok. here's the next chapter. enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
By now, Clark was wishing he had listened to Pete last Friday. He would have stayed home, Pete wouldn't have gotten attacked, he would be speaking to Chloe, and Lana wouldn't have thought he was a terrible friend.  
  
'I wish I had Lionel's time traveler. I could just go back to the day I met Lana and show her my secret and tell her how much I love her. Maybe things wouldn't turn out as bad as they are now...'  
  
And as Clark wallowed in pity in his bedroom that night, Chloe was wide awake in bed with her laptop lying firmly on her knees. All the other lights in the room were off because Mr. McDaniels had issued 'bedtime' an hour ago. Chloe smiled to herself thinking she could probably count the number of students who actually went to bed at nine on one hand.  
  
She scrolled down the page she was looking at. It was a profile she'd had created for Lionel Luthor a while back. So far she had found out he loved sushi, Beethoven, and quiet evenings in the mansion, but found nothing on the C.T.W.S.  
  
Just when was about to give up, an instant message popped up. From Black_Hole1994.  
  
'1994...' Chloe mind swirled with newfound intrigue.  
  
The instant message said:  
  
Black_Hole1994: r u alone?  
  
Chloe swallowed and slowly began to type.  
  
MeteorJunkie04: yea. who is this?  
  
Black_Hole1994: good. we are the kids  
  
Chloe frowned as she answered.  
  
MeteorJunkie04: which kids?  
  
Black_Hole1994: the kids from the luthors experiment. u have to help us  
  
'This has to be a prank someone's playing on me,' Chloe told herself unbelievably.  
  
MeteorJunkie04: is this a joke?  
  
Black_Hole1994: no! we came to the year 2004 to get him. we want our lives back. u have to help us  
  
MeteorJunkie04: him? u mean lionel?  
  
Black_Hole1994: yes  
  
Chloe stared at her screen. There was no way these time traveling kids were talking to her. She must be dreaming or something. How the hell can this be happening?  
  
MeteorJunkie04: where r u?  
  
Black_Hole1994: eerie. we're always in eerie. we can't leave it unless we get him  
  
MeteorJunkie04: how did u get this screen name?  
  
Black_Hole1994: it doesn't matter. u r the only one who can help us. we tried to reach u in ur room last night and tell u  
  
MeteorJunkie04: u did that to my room?  
  
MeteorJunkie04: how? y?  
  
MeteorJunkie04: did u attack pete too?  
  
Black_Hole1994: we were only trying to tell u he was there. we'll do anything to get him  
  
MeteorJunkie04: what about pete?  
  
Black_Hole1994: pete?  
  
MeteorJunkie1994: he was attacked in the forest the day we got here. did u do that?  
  
There was a long wait. Chloe was almost shaking. She rubbed her hands together impatiently. Then, just like a bullet, the instant message said:  
  
Black_Hole1994 signed off at 10:59 PM  
  
Immediately she saved the conversation and added the name 'Black_Hole1994' to her buddy list. She then waited. Maybe their connection was cut off. Maybe they'd sign back on. She hoped they would. She had hundreds of more questions to ask.  
  
As she waited, she began to realize something. Up until now, she'd felt sorry for the missing four. They were lost in time with nobody to save them. But after this conversation, she realized that maybe they weren't as innocent as she thought. Should she really try to help them if their intentions were wrong? What if she helped them out and they began attacking even more people? They had said themselves that they couldn't live Eerie. So what would happen if they could?  
  
The watch on Chloe's wrist told her it was too late to think about this much more. She reluctantly shut down her computer and fell back into bed.  
  
'It doesn't even feel like we left Smallville at all,' she thought finally.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The next day, Tuesday, couldn't have been anymore boring. They were planning to go to an orange orchard on the other side of Eerie, but it rained the whole day and caused all the eager students to be stuck inside. To add to their grumpy moods, the rain and wind outside made the inside of the mansion twice as cold. And while this was an inviting thing to the many young couples who cuddled next to each other, to Clark it was a nightmare.  
  
Lana had officially stopped talking to him for a full twenty-four hours. It was madness. Clark couldn't think of anything enjoyable. Pete's attack, Chloe's attack, the two kids and their story about the Luthors - everything was twirling and spinning around his brain. Why couldn't he put any of it together? Maybe if he could talk to Chloe...but of course she wasn't speaking to him either.  
  
'Gees, Day 3 in Eerie and already I've lost two of my closest friends.' He rolled over on his bed uncomfortably.  
  
His room was his only solitude. It made up for his loft which he was desperately missing at the moment.  
  
There was a sudden knock on his door. He looked up automatically thinking it was Lana. But as the door slowly opened it revealed the familiar face of Jason.  
  
"Hey, um, I just needed to get one of my books. I hope I'm not bothering you, Clark," he stated rushing over to his backpack lying next his bed and began to rustle through it.  
  
"Oh, no. It's fine." Clark noticed Jason pull out a small paperback novel. "What're you reading?"  
  
"Um, just a little light reading. It's The Time Machine by H. G. Wells."  
  
"Oh," Clark exclaimed growing more interest as he sat up fully, "you're into time traveling stuff, huh?"  
  
"Well, sure. It sounds really cool. It's amazing how you could just skip all the wars and famine and fast forward straight to the good stuff." Jason looked up happily.  
  
"Yeah. Or stop something from happening before it ever begins," Clark stated dreaming even more of using Lionel's device.  
  
Jason became very silent at Clark's last remark. Clark glanced over to see if something was wrong, but Jason quickly flashed him a smirk and stood. "I guess I better leave to your thoughts then. I'll catch you later, Clark."  
  
"Right. Later," Clark retorted as Jason shut the door behind him.  
  
Clark sighed and tried to get comfortable again. He eventually dazed off into a weak sleep.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Lana? Lana!"  
  
Lana jerked as she saw Chloe's hand fly infront of her face. She looked over at her and smiled apologetically.  
  
"Sorry. What's up?"  
  
"I just wanted to say thank you for not following Pete and all his dumb friends into the World 'O Stuff to spy on me," she explained sitting next to Lana. They were settled in the squishy chairs next to the roaring fire in the lounge.  
  
"Yeah, well it wasn't like they were urging me to go. I actually didn't even know they went until Clark told me afterwards." Lana looked sincerely at her roommate. "I'm sorry about them. They aren't to bright in the friendship department."  
  
"I know. I just feel like I'm overreacting on this. I mean maybe I should just forgive them and this whole ghost attacking story could come to an end."  
  
"No, Chloe. They need to figure out their trust issues first," Lana confirmed promptly.  
  
"You sound like they distrusted you too. What happened?" Chloe asked curling up into the chair to gain more warmth.  
  
"Oh, it's Clark. I just, I thought he was changing. And then I found out he was really starting to like me so I tried to get us together and the whole thing kind of blew over. I heard what he did with Pete and Lance and realized he's still the same old closed-off, non-trusting Clark Kent he always is," Lana said solemnly. "It's hard to have a relationship with someone like that."  
  
Chloe thought about this slowly.  
  
"Lana, I get what your saying, but I know Clark. He can be a tough puzzle to solve, but he's an awazing guy. He's just like you or me. He makes mistakes, too. Just cut him some slack."  
  
Lana's mind began to become very frustrated.  
  
"So does this mean you're going to forgive him, Pete, and Lance?" she wondered suddenly.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe. When or if I find out what this whole ghost thing is about."  
  
"Did you find anything else about it?"  
  
Chloe paused.  
  
"Not really."  
  
They sat in silence watching the golden flames of the fire.  
  
"Lana?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you mind me asking what you were doing if I was at World 'O Stuff with our three favorite males? You weren't hangin out with the cheerleading squad again were you?" Chloe asked smiling slightly.  
  
Lana laughed. "No, I was browsing in the jewerly store with - "  
  
Lana stopped suddenly.  
  
"With...?" Chloe repeated eagerly.  
  
"With Jason. He sort of - asked me to go with him to the dance on Friday."  
  
"Wow, really? What did you say?" Chloe answered changing her postion in the chair.  
  
"I didn't really say a definite answer," Lana admited truthfully. "Of course, that was before I yelled at Clark."  
  
"And what about now? If Jason asked you right now, what would be your answer?"  
  
Lana swallowed.  
  
"I think I'd probably seriously consider it."  
  
Chloe gave a satisfied nod and looked at the fire.  
  
Lana was still uncomfortable. If she was so angry at Clark and his distrustfulness, then why was she still thinking about going to the dance with him?  
  
"Actually I'd say yes. Definitely."  
  
Chloe looked back up at Lana startled. She then smiled bewilderly.  
  
Back in the room upstairs, Clark was listening intently with his super hearing as a quick, sharp pain tore into his heart. There were only three days left and they still couldn't find out what was behind the attacks. Plus, he lost Lana Lang, the girl of his dreams, forever.  
  
*~*~*  
  
a.n. i'm killing u aren't i? i kno! i'm killing myself! just bare with me okay? REVIEW!  
  
btw, just e-mail me about the beta thing if u want. i'll beta G, PG, or PG- 13 stories (ones with clana included will be encouraged. hehe)  
  
thas it 4 me! now it's ur time to review! 


	16. ChApTeR SiXtEeN

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. oook! i'm updating! yayayayayayay!  
  
i am proud to announce that the story is coming to its climax. which means there will be some nice fluffy clana in the future *wink wink*  
  
um, so yea. it's all i gotta say. thanx for the awesome reviews!!! ;o)  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lana was reading quietly in her room. The rain had postponed the orange orchard trip another day. She didn't mind though. A day in a hot field surrounded by sticky, juicy fruits wasn't exactly her idea of fun.  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
"Come in."  
  
"Hi." It was Jason smiling sheepishly.  
  
"Hey," Lana answered setting her book down on her bed. "What brings you here?"  
  
"Uh, you," he retorted happily as he sat down in the chair next to Lana.  
  
"Really?" Lana retorted smiling. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the back of her head, but she chose to quickly ignore it.  
  
"Yeah, um, I snuck down to the kitchen for a few hours and made these." Jason took a small plate out from behind him which contained a bunch of home-made chocolate peanutbutter cups. "Want some?"  
  
"Wow, yeah. Thanks," Lana said taking a few gladly. She bit into one. "These are great. Is your dad a chief or something?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, he was. Before he, uh..." Jason swallowed sternly before finishing his sentence. "died."  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jason. Didn't mean to - "  
  
"No. You didn't know. It's okay." Jason desperately tried to find something else to talk about. "So, I've heard about the time traveling kids that you and your other friends are interested in."  
  
"Oh, yeah. I'm not really into it now. It's been kind of tearing our friendships apart one by one," Lana admited as she continued to eat the delicious desert.  
  
"But don't you think it would be amazing to travel into the future? Find out if your dreams are actually worth dreaming about?" Jason looked at her with an intense gaze.  
  
"Um, that would be really great," Lana stated confidently, "but I think this point in time is where we're meant to be."  
  
"But wouldn't it be awesome if we could just visit the future? Aren't you even the slightest bit curious?" Jason asked quickly.  
  
"Well, of course. Isn't everybody?" Lana exclaimed taking another bite out of the chocolate candy.  
  
"What do you think your future will turn out to be?"  
  
"I-I really don't know...I good one I hope," Lana answered honestly.  
  
"Oh, you'll definitely have a good future, Lana. I know that for sure," Jason confirmed sweetly.  
  
Lana smiled. "Thanks, Jason."  
  
"Yeah, you won't have anything to worry about. Everyone around you cares about you so much, Lana. You're lucky to have people who stay in your life like that for a long time," Jason stated and then sheepishly ended his talk and began eating one of his own tasty treats.  
  
Lana's eyes narrowed. "How do you know so much about me?"  
  
"I found out you lost your parents in the meteor shower fourteen years ago from the TIME magazine. It must've sucked. Just like my dad's death. He was all I had..." Jason explained sadly. "We both lost people in our lives that we wish were still here. We both have this fragile, damaged piece inside us that we chose to cover up."  
  
Lana was speechless. He was right. There was that bond they both shared. She could feel it.  
  
"I always thought that we could become really great friends, but you kind of got popular and I just...drifted away..." Jason swallowed abruptly at the end of the sentence.  
  
"Jason, I'm your friend now," Lana informed firmly.  
  
"I know. I know. But I remember back in second grade we did a puzzle together once. Even then you were so beautiful...And I remember I always tried to reach for puzzle pieces that you were going to pick up so our hands would touch just a little," he remembered blushing slightly. "And even then I was an invisible geek. No one even noticed me at all."  
  
Lana only then remembered that day. She felt even worse when she also realized that was the only memory she had of Jason. What he had said was true - no one noticed him.  
  
"Except you," Jason continued. "You noticed me. Everyone else played Jingo. You were the only one who would do the puzzle with me. You were the first to notice me."  
  
Lana felt like she was going to cry. How could someone lead such an invisible life?  
  
"I want to thank you." Jason pulled out something from his pocket and handed it to her.  
  
She took in curiously in her hand and saw the gleaming green of the dolphin ring she had been admiring in the jewerly shop.  
  
"Oh, Jason. I can't take this. This must have been a fortune," she quickly said with awe.  
  
"No, it really wasn't that much. And I didn't buy the box for it so that cut down the price a bit." Jason sighed. "I just think you deserve it. Whether you realized it that day in second grade or not - you showed me what it was like to be a real, visible person. And you did the samething again on this trip. Thanks."  
  
Lana looked from the ring to Jason and back again. She knew Jason was obviously not going to take it back, so she slipped it on her middle finger and admired it for a few seconds.  
  
"You are a very great, trusting, guy, Jason Hendricks," Lana began solemnly, "And I can't wait for the dance on Friday."  
  
Jason smiled greatly and was quickly joined by Lana.  
  
And just as Lana smiled, Clark slowly drifted out of her mind...  
  
*~*~*  
  
As Lex cruised the town out of pure boredom, he noticed two familiar boys on the edge of the deserted road he was now traveling upon. They each had a small flash light at hand and one had some sort of contraption on his head.  
  
Lex pulled his spotless porsche onto the side of the road and got out.  
  
"What are two doing? It's almost eleven at night," Lex stated walking towards them.  
  
"We have to check this forest out for ourselves," Marshall explained in a determined tone.  
  
Lex looked over to his right. the first five feet from the road was flat green grass. After that, it was a sea of thick, dark pines and mysterious unknowns.  
  
"What is that ridiculous thing on your head?" Lex asked Marshall acknowledging the deformed football helmet now resting on his entire head and face.  
  
"It's a helmet with a Polaroid camera taped on it. Simon and I made it a while ago when we were searching the haunted houses in Eerie," Marshall exclaimed proudly. "We figured we might be able to use it to take a few pictures of whatever's in here."  
  
"Not now. Not at night. Come on, I'm taking you to home," Lex confirmed similar to how a parent talked to their children.  
  
But just as Lex ended that sentence, he heard a faint sound. And it began to grow louder. And louder. A beautiful flowing flute sound. Where was that coming from?  
  
Without a word, Lex slowly inched towards the trees in front of him. Marshall and Simon followed with an equal amount of intrigue welling inside them. They had to find out what this lovely music was.  
  
Suddenly, the music was joined by laughter. A child's laughter. It echoed in the distance. Lex reached the edge of the forest and made his way through it calmly.  
  
Marshall and Simon could not see Lex in the darkness, but it was not a factor to them. The music and laughing had over taking their minds. Nothing else mattered.  
  
Just then, the wonderful cherubic laughter shot itself into a hardcore demonic cackle. It rised above the flute and was followed by a male scream.  
  
Marshall and Simon were snapped out of the daze and looked around. Why were they in the forest?  
  
"AHHH!!!"  
  
Another scream from Lex's lungs made Simon jump and quickly turn on his flashlight.  
  
Both of the boy's mouths dropped. Lex was on the floor of the forest kneeling with his head looking straight up. His hands were wrapped around an invisible hand that looked like it was choking him mercilessly.  
  
"Hkkelp..." Lex manged to utter though his neck felt like it was about to snap.  
  
"You are going to PLAY for what you did, Luthor! We take NO mercy here!" An evil child-like voice shouted near Lex.  
  
"Who are you? What're you doing? Get off him!" Simon shrieked as he lunged himself at the invisible being that was choking Lex who was beginning to turn purple. Simon was quickly thrusted backwards onto his back. Marshall stared unbelievably and only then remembered his photographic helmet.  
  
Ch-chick!  
  
Marshall snapped a picture and caught the Polaroid as it fell out of the camera. This did not seem to go over so well with the inivisible person. Lex fell to the ground grabbing his neck and rubbing it soothingly.  
  
"Give me that CAMERA!" The voice screamed angirly.  
  
"It's coming after you, Marshall! Run!"  
  
Marshall obeyed his young companion. In other cases, he would've waited until he knew Lex and Simon were okay. But he couldn't risk it. He had keep the developed picture safe at any cost. He raced past the trees feeling small twigs and strings of ivy cut his arms and legs. It didn't matter. He simply HAD to save the picture.  
  
"Give me THAT CAMERA!"  
  
Marshall reached the end of the forest and saw Lex' Porsche. The lights were still on. That meant the keys were still in the car. He slid over the hood of the car and hopped into the drivers side (ya kno - like marty did in the movie Back To The Future? lol. i've always wanted to do that!). He hesitated, feeling his nerves shaking madly, but then forcefully stomped on the gas pedal. The car shot forward with amazing power.  
  
'Don't kill yourself, Marshall. Maintain focus...' Marshall was shaking and sweat was beginning to fall from his forehead. He was thirteen and driving a Porsche at 75 mph from an invisible being. In any other town (with the exception of Smallville, Kansas) this would've seemed outrageous.  
  
Marshall quickly whipped the sweat from his brow as he tried desperately to remember the route to the place where Chloe was staying. He had to show her the picture. Because he'd suddenly put all the pieces together. He knew what was behind the attacks.  
  
*~*~*  
  
a.n. ooo the cliffy chaps are back! muhahahahahaha ha ha....ha *notices all the angry readers balling up their fists*. um...please REVIEW!  
  
p.s. i PROIMSE i'm NOT a Jana shipper (jason/lana). lol 


	17. ChApTeR SeVeNtEeN

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. update update update!  
  
hehe. well, i figured i should update because IT'S TOM WELLING'S 27TH BIRTHDAY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM!!!  
  
lol. ok. so, this is a little more towards the action side i guess....um so yea. i don't wanna bore you so ENJOY!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Chloe jumped at the sound of screeching tires outside the mansion. She walked over to the nearest window she could find in the hallway she had been walking through to her room. She reached one the windows at the end of the hall and peeked through curiously. She spotted Marshall slamming the door of a very expensive car shut and rushing towards the front door. Chloe hurrily raced down the stairs to meet him at the entrance.  
  
"Chloe! Chloe, you've GOT to come with me!" he shouted trying not to jumble his words.  
  
"Shhh! Mr. McDaniels will hear you and I'm not suppose to be out this late," Chloe answered back quietly. "What's going on?"  
  
"I know what happened! I know how the kids were invisible!" Marshall pulled out the recently taken picture from his pocket. It showed a kid - Brad Martin to be exact - strangling Lex Luthor in the deep forest that Marshall had narrowly escaped from.  
  
"Wha - what's this? Is Lex okay? Where's Simon?" Chloe's journalistic mind went into over-drive once again.  
  
Marshall took a breathe before beginning. "Simon and I decided that we should check on the forest ourselves and as we were going in, Lex pulled up. He tried to give us a ride home in his car but this weird music drew us into the forest. When we got in something grabbed for Lex's throat. It said something about getting revenge on Lex - I think they thought that Lex is the one responsible instead of Lionel. I took a picture of it and that's when I realized something - they're invisible unless you take a picture of them! They're visible in pictures!"  
  
"So you left Lex and Simon in the forest and stole Lex's car to come here?" Chloe asked amazed.  
  
"I had to. It was coming after me! Please, we have to save them," Marshall urged feeling tears welling up in his eyes. Simon was his best friend...  
  
"I'll go get some back up. Wait in the car."  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Really? So...so you really don't mind going to the dance with me?" Jason asked for the hundreth time as Lana walked him to his room.  
  
"No, I really don't mind, Jason. It would be an honor," Lana repeated smiling. "And thanks alot for the ring. It means alot."  
  
"You're welcome." Jason stared longingly into Lana's eyes.  
  
"Jason!" Clark exclaimed in the doorway of their room. "And...Lana. Um, I was just gonna look for you. It's really late. I don't think we should be out here."  
  
Lana noticed Clark's hurt face but she didn't take time to pity it. She looked confidently back at Jason and gave a peck on the cheek.  
  
"I'll see you later."  
  
Clark swallowed harshly. He knew that kiss was specifically to make him boil with jealously. It was doing a very good job.  
  
Jason blushed and smiled even more. "R-right. Bye."  
  
Just as Lana turned to leave, Chloe came bounding up the stairs.  
  
"Chloe, what were you doing down there? Did Mr. McDaniels catch you?" Lana wondered with concern.  
  
"No, he didn't. But I need you help." She looked at Clark as if mentally calling a truce between them. "We have a major problem."  
  
*~*~*  
  
"This is insane. This is crazy. We're gonna be in so much trouble. No, worse than that - we'll die right there in the forest and no one will ever know," Pete stated pessimistically.  
  
"Pete, just shush, okay?" Lance snapped crudely.  
  
All of them - Chloe, Lana, Lance, Pete, Clark, Jason, and Marshall - were smashed into the tiny porsche. How they'd all gotten in there, Clark would never know. The simple fact was: they were in there and they were heading to a forest occupied with four time warping kids.  
  
Clark's leg bounced nervously. He knew he could get there faster by running. If he didn't try, Lex and Simon might be lost forever.  
  
"Uh, guys? I-I think I'm getting claustriphobia," Clark lied pleadingly.  
  
"We're almost there," Chloe retorted from the driver's seat.  
  
"I don't think you understand. When I'm in really small places I tend to get a stomache ache. And when I get that I..." Clark leaned forward and pretended to make disgusting gurgling noises in his throat as if he was about to vomit.  
  
A few minutes later, Clark was dropped off on the side of the road with the promise of his friends coming back for him as soon as Lex and Simon were alright. Clark smiled in spite of himself as the car disappeared in the night.  
  
A gust of wind blew past the trees in a mere half second Clark was in the forest switching on his super-sonic hearing and x-ray vision. There was absolutely nothing. He sighed defeatedly. Where was Lex and Simon?  
  
Just then, he heard the swish of something rush past him. As that happened, he felt an acute pain shock his gut. He fell to the floor and realized that the meteor rocks were taking their tole on Clark. He tried to regain his breath, but just then he felt someone's hand grab his throat.  
  
"You came at the WRONG time," a boy's voice stated from above Clark.  
  
Clark was thrown backwards and tossed around by the grass and bushes.  
  
"What do you...want...?" Clark tryed to ask holding his stomache painfully.  
  
"What do I want?" the voice repeated with added anger. "WHAT DO I WANT??? MY LIFE! THAT'S WHAT WE ALL WANTED! You have NO idea what's like to move through time wishing you had a place in the world again. Wishing that your families could see you once more."  
  
"Just let Lex and Simon go....we...we can figure something out..." Clark explained weakly.  
  
"SHUT UP!" the voice boomed. "Luthor did an experiment on us years ago that caused us to be caught in time and never return to our original time zone ever again. We can't live normally anymore, so why should he?"  
  
Suddenly, Clark noticed a bundle lying towards the right of him. With closer expection, Clark realized it was Lex and Simon. His eyes widened in terror. He tried to stand as best he could and hobbled over to them. He noticed that both of their faces were pearly white and expressionless.  
  
"In a few moments, we'll be taking to those two with us through time. They'll be lost and feel the same way we do. Only then will we FULLY GET REVENGE!"  
  
Clark opened his mouth to say that he had the wrong Luthor and Simon wasn't involved, but the invisible being had grabbed his throat once again and lifted Clark so high his feet left the ground (which is pretty gosh darn high it ya ask me).  
  
"Agkkhhgggkk," he stuttered urgently.  
  
"Clark!"  
  
Clark heard his name, but couldn't tell who it was. Everything was getting dark and fuzzy and his neck felt like it was shrinking slowly.  
  
"Ah!" shouted the voice as someone jumped on top of him. The invisible person let go of Clark and they all hit the ground rapidly.  
  
Clark tried to look around. He saw the outline of a figure punching at the air and short hurtful grunts could be heard after every swipe. Clark realized it was Marshall who was inflicting the wounds. It was obviously getting back at the invisible kids for attacking his best friend.  
  
"Clark! Oh my God."  
  
Clark heard someone rush over to him. But before he could figure out who it was, everything went completely black.  
  
*~*~*  
  
a.n. CCCcccLLLlllIIiiiFFFfffYYYyyy!! haha  
  
please review! :o) 


	18. ChApTeR EiGhTeEn

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. *eyes widen and mouth drops* 96 REVIEWS??? omg u guys ROCK!!! seriously, i'm a VERY happy person. thanx so so so so so so so so SO MUCH!  
  
ok. this chapter is basically the turning point. not very eventful but nonetheless important. but ya kno...  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Ow..." Clark moaned as he sat up.  
  
"It's about time you woke up."  
  
Clark slowly opened his eyes to see Pete staring straight at him. They were both on the sofa in the lounge of the Presidilla mansion. The window nearby showed a few faint rays of morning sunlight rise over the horizon.  
  
"What happened?" Clark asked groggily whipping the sleep out of his eyes.  
  
"Aw man, it was amazing! Just like a movie!" Clark stared unbelievably and Pete laughed as he continued. "Well, after you fainted, Chloe and Lana rushed over to see if you were alright."  
  
'Chloe?...and Lana? They wanted to make sure I was alright? Maybe our friendship isn't so bad after all..." Clark thought hopefully.  
  
Pete still spoke. "So Marshall is still going crazy on Brad. His little helmet with the camera kept takin pictures every five seconds. Then these two other things grab me and Lance. It was a straight-up cat fight! Haha."  
  
"So, how did u get it stop?" Clark wondered curiously.  
  
"Jason ran back to the car and found a can of mace in the glove compartment."  
  
"Wow, so did the police come to take the kids away or something?"  
  
"Yeah. They're all in the hospital, Simon and Marshall are safe in their homes, and all the rest of us got out okay." Pete concluded happily.  
  
"I'm sorry I missed it. I just got really weak. I think Lionel used the meteor rocks to make the C.T.W.S. somehow," Clark stated rubbing his throat which was still sore.  
  
Pete nodded in agreement.  
  
"Clark! Hey guys! He's awake!" Lance shouted from the doorway.  
  
"Would you shut up! Mr. McDaniels is already sour about us being up all night," Pete snapped quietly.  
  
Chloe entered the room shortly followed by Jason and Lana who, in Clark's mind, were standing entirely too close to each other.  
  
"Clark, I'm so sorry about this stupid trip," Chloe began sitting down in a chair in front of him. "I got so caught up in this story."  
  
"No, Chloe, we shouldn't have left you behind on the trip to the museum. You had every right to be mad," Clark interrupted sturnly.  
  
"But I got these hints about what was going on with the kids in the forest and I never even told you guys because I was just so stuck up in my own little world."  
  
"What hints?" Lance asked offensively.  
  
"Well, the kids sort of IMed me one night and told me that they wanted revenge and they were the ones that attacked my room. I should've told you, but I didn't want you guys to take off with the story," Chloe admited with a saddened face.  
  
"Well, I'm sorry about eavesdropping on you at the World O' Stuff. Guess we sorta did take off with the story," Pete said truthfully.  
  
Clark looked over at Lana. As long as they were having this intimate apologizing party, he might as well add in some more of his share.  
  
"Lana - "  
  
"No, Clark. Don't say you're sorry. I was harsh on you when you tried to talk to me. I should've tried to talk to you more instead of jumping to the conclusion that you were a dishonest friend," Lana broke in.  
  
Clark didn't know what else to do but send her a week smile which she halfway returned.  
  
"Well, I don't know about you guys," Chloe said yawning, "but I'm going to bed. We have to get our beauty sleep for the party you know."  
  
Lance and Pete followed her. Jason turned to leave but realized that Lana wasn't coming.  
  
"What? You think you're too gorgeous for beauty sleep?"  
  
Lana laughed and Clark bit his tongue to prevent himself from doing something he would regret.  
  
"No, um, I just...I'll go to bed later. I'm not really tired."  
  
Jason seemed satisfied and hurried up the stairs.  
  
As soon as he left, Lana turned to Clark.  
  
"Clark, I want you to know something."  
  
"What's that?' Clark asked even though he could tell by the serious tone in her voice he could pretty much guess.  
  
"Jason asked me to the dance a while ago as his date," Lana admited. "And I said yes."  
  
"Ok," Clark retorted flatly.  
  
"It's just," Lana began sitting down next Clark on the sofa, "I was so mad at you and I had it stuck in my mind that you were this horrible distrusting person. Jason just seemed...trustworthy."  
  
"Lana, did you not hear me?" Clark stated convincingly. "I said okay."  
  
"Really? I mean, I know how...you know...you...well, you seemed like you..." Lana realized that they had never openly admited how they felt about one another.  
  
"Lana, Jason is obviously a really good guy. He asked you first so...you should go." The last three words came out in a whisper. Clark hadn't meant for it to sound like that. He swallowed trying to hide the pain he felt.  
  
Lana stared meaningfully into Clark's eyes. "Is that how you really want it?"  
  
Clark looked away but quickly looked back with confidence. "Yes."  
  
Lana nodded and smiled. "And I mean it's not like we won't see each other there. Because...you're going anyway, right?"  
  
"Y-yeah. Um...yeah," Clark answered even though he wasn't totally sure of that. If seeing Jason and Lana standing next to each other made him feel terrible, he could only imagine what would happened if he caught them dancing together....or maybe more.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lionel strolled through the busy hallways of the hospital glancing in every room looking for one imparticular. he finally found it - Room 428 - and entered quietly.  
  
A nurse was checking one of the monitors on the four beds that lay in front of Lionel. The four missing kids were lying peacefuly on them without stirring even once.  
  
"Did the serium work alright?" Lionel asked the nurse curiously.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Luthor. I don't know what you had in that tube, but it sure helped these kids. They're as visible as you and me now," the nurse complemented gazing back at the kids as if they were her own children. "They still have a few cuts and bruises from the fight last night, but they'll be fine."  
  
Lionel smiled and then reached in his breast pocket. "And, um, who all knows about these kids being sent to this hospital?"  
  
"Uh...the secretary at the main desk in E.R., Dr. Wayne the one who treated them, and myself of course. Why?"  
  
Lionel opened a check book which he'd retrieved from his pocket and signed it at the bottom. "Let's say...$10000 and these kids are forgotten to you three?"  
  
"Wh-what?" the nurse asked narrowing her eyes.  
  
"Ms..." Lionel noticed her tag. "Clayton, these kids are of high importance to me. I must take them out of this hospital by Friday night and no one needs to know why. How's $15000 and whatever you don't need you can donate to the lung cancer research?"  
  
"All that to - to forget I even saw these kids?"  
  
"Yes," Lionel retorted as he finished filling out the check and handing it to the Ms. Clayton. "You don't mind do you?"  
  
Ms. Clayton looked at the check, then back at the kids. She finally left the room without another word.  
  
Lionel watched her go and as soon as she turned the corner at the end of the hall, he closed the door to the room, found his cell phone, and dialed a number.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"It's Lionel. Everything is set. Meet me at the hospital in Room 428 Friday night at nine."  
  
"Okay. But can't I stay just a little longer?"  
  
"No. This is too risky. I must get these kids back to their homes. I'll see you then."  
  
Lionel turned off his phone and then walked briskly out of the hospital as if he had just been a normal visitor with nothing to prove.  
  
*~*~*  
  
a.n. we're closing in on the clana!! there still are a few turns...maybe you've guessed already...i dunno.  
  
ok - REVIEW! my goal is to get over 100!! help me out people! ur the bestest! 


	19. ChApTeR NiNeTeEn

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. THANK YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! u have NO idea how frigin happy i am rite now!!!!! OMG!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOu!!!!!!!!!  
  
ok. so, um, here's the next chapter. this is my longest fic so far. sorry about that. they always seem to grow on me. lol. anywayz, i'm pretty sure there's only about two or three chapters left.  
  
u clana shippers will be happy! :oD  
  
enjoy!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Five minutes before the party, Clark was in his room - his temporary fort of solitude. He was currently debating on whether he should actually go or not. Pete was already going with Lena as well as Leah, Chloe was going with Lance, and, of course, Jason with Lana. But Clark was completely single and completely alone. Pete had offered Leah, but Clark guessed by the look on Leah's face when he mentioned that, that she'd rather go to the dance with Big Foot in a blizzard then with him. He declined the offer and remained bored in his room.  
  
'This is so stupid,' Clark told himself finally. 'I'm going down there and I'm gonna have fun.'  
  
As soon as he entered the room, Clark noticed how unbelievably different everything looked. Instead of the many rows of tables for breakfast, there was a large shiny marble floor covered with every other Smallville High student Clark could remember. The lights were on low and there was a dull drone of music in the background. A group of students danced to the music every now and then. Clark felt out of place as he searched for his friends. He found Pete hovering over the refreshments.  
  
"Hey, man! You came!" Pete exclaimed happily as noticed Clark walk towards him.  
  
"Yeah, it was getting a little old staring at the ceiling all night," Clark admited jokingly.  
  
"Alright, well, I'll catch ya later. I got two cuties waiting for me," Pete said acknowledging Leah and Lena who were standing in a corner not to far away conversing with a few other cheerleaders. "Leah is still available if you want her."  
  
"Thanks, but no thanks, Pete. See ya," Clark confirmed as Pete rushed off.  
  
Clark looked around at everyone dancing and talking happily. The last of Clark's good mood faded when he turned his direction and caught Jason and Lana dancing together. He felt like he was slowly shrinking away. He didn't mean anything to Lana anymore. Jason was the one that saved them in the forest. All Clark did was pass out.  
  
The song ended quickly and to Clark's delight, Lana noticed him staring and began walking his way.  
  
"Clark, when did you get here?"  
  
"Oh, I - " Clark stopped. His stomache ached tremendously. His head hurt. He looked down at Lana's finger and saw the glowing green of the meteor rock cut into the shape of a dolphin on the ring she was wearing.  
  
"Are you okay, Clark?" she asked with immediate concern.  
  
Jason walked over to them and also realized Clark's awkward condition. "Woah, dude, what's up? You gonna vomit or something?"  
  
"I...I just...I need some...air..." Clark uttered hurriedly walking out of the room.  
  
Lana watched him go sadly. She'd been hoping they could share at least one friendly dance together. Maybe they were just meant to be seperated.  
  
Jason swallowed uncomfortably and decided it was time.  
  
"Lana, could we talk in private?" he wondered hopefully.  
  
"Uh, yeah. Okay," she answered still worrying about Clark in her mind.  
  
Jason took her arm and lead her into the hall just outside of the party. He looked directly into her eyes and said, "Lana, there's something I hafta get out before you go the wrong way in your life."  
  
"What?" she asked bewilderedly.  
  
Jason closed his eyes and reluctantly began. "Ever since last summer, I've been working with Lionel Luthor and the C.T.W.S."  
  
Lana's jaw dropped.  
  
"Just hear me out, okay?" Jason quickly added. "Last summer, my dad died. I was so depressed and no one was even there for me to comfort my pain. I went into a bunch of therapists, but nothing really helped it all go away. I still felt lonely. So Lionel tracked me down. Said he was trying to find these four kids that he'd gotten stuck in time. When he found them, he needed someone to send them back to their time. I agreed to do it because I didn't have anything else to live for. Dad was my life. So, now it's my time. I have to meet Lionel at the hospital tonight and leave...for the year 1994."  
  
"Wh-wha...you can't...you're just...leaving?" Lana was speechless. "You're going to live in 1994?"  
  
"Well, I-I might be back," Jason stated optimistically. "I mean, I know how the time warping device that Lionel made works so I could go back in time, tell that Lionel how to work it and he could send me back."  
  
"And what if he can't?"  
  
Jason became very calm and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Lana, you've been one of the greatest friends I've ever had, I can't even believe we actually talk now, but I can't stay here. I get pushed around everyday. I don't have a family, I don't have a sport I'm good at, or an art I like. Maybe if I live in a totally different world I can change that."  
  
Lana thought for a while. Jason was an extremely nice guy, but she remembered how she didn't even recognize him in school or even was aware he went there. Suppose going back in time really would help him...  
  
"And, Lana, this isn't like I haven't given it thought. I spent a long time thinking it over. I want to do this." Jason added firmly.  
  
Lana forced her gaze upon him. "If this is really where you want to go, I won't try to stand in your way."  
  
"I won't forget you Lana. I promise I'll try every way possible to get back to you when I'm ready."  
  
Lana smiled and pulled him into a hug.  
  
"So I guess the dance is over for both of us," Lana said as soon as the hug ended.  
  
"Maybe for me, but not you."  
  
"What do you mean? Like I'm going to have any fun now you're leaving."  
  
"Oh come on. You can't mean that. What about Clark?" Jason reminded helpfully.  
  
"I would, but he looked really bad a couple minutes ago. I'm not sure he's in the partying mood," Lana explained thinking about Clark once again.  
  
"Lana, just talk to him. I could tell just by his face how bummed out he was that he couldn't ask you to the dance. I'm out of the picture. In fact, I wasn't even in it," Jason confirmed. "Go see him."  
  
"I guess this is goodbye, then," Lana said trying not to feel depressed.  
  
"No. More like 'see you later' instead of 'goodbye'," Jason admited.  
  
Lana smiled. They hugged once more, and Jason quietly left. Lana sighed and looked down at her finger. There was the ring. She grinned and then hurriedly rushed up to her room, putting it in her bookbag carefully. It didn't seem right to wear it now Jason was gone. She then made her way downstairs in search of Clark.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Clark felt the cool wind swish around him. He sat on the porch steps of the mansion in complete silence. It figured that Lana would be wearing meteor rock so he couldn't even try to get near her. It was amazing how easily Lana just slipped out of his reach. If he could only go back and actually kiss her during one of those moments he'd tried to create.  
  
"Clark? Did the fresh air help?"  
  
Clark jumped at the sound of her voice. Her ring was no longer on her finger, but a huge smile was on her face.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I think so," Clark answered. "Where's Jason?"  
  
"Jason is...uh...Jason's taking the four missing kids back to their time frame. He's been working with Lionel to track them down and get them home. I just hope it works." Lana sat down next Clark on the steps.  
  
"Really? So he just up and left right in the middle of the party?" Clark wondered unbelievably.  
  
"He said he'd been thinking about it for some time. I guess going back to 1994 is a more of a blessing to him then anything else. I'm glad he's finally getting a second chance to be happy."  
  
Clark smiled encouragingly looking into her eyes. Her beautiful eyes.  
  
"Yeah. Everyone needs a second chance."  
  
Lana noticed his intense gaze. It was at that exact moment that they each felt it was right. Everything was perfect. No one around to bother them. No people in their life to be worried about. All systems were go.  
  
Clark practically julted his face forward slidding his hand onto her waist and capturing her lips in his. Lana quickly kissed him back sweetly and delicately touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers. They parted to see each other's reactions.  
  
"Wow..." Clark whispered softly. "I don't even know where that came from."  
  
"It came from the coin." Lana explained smiling.  
  
"The what?" Clark asked frowning.  
  
"The coin you gave me when we were at the fountain in the park. The one I made a wish on."  
  
"You wished...for that?" Clark asked feeling his breathing start to become uneven. Did he just - KISS LANA?!  
  
"No," Lana answered making Clark look even more out of place. "I wished for you."  
  
Clark smiled tremendously revealing all twenty-four of his dazzling white teeth.  
  
Lana stood and grabbed his hand. "Come on."  
  
She lead him back to the party which had mellowed out a bit and was now playing slower songs. She told Clark to wait out on the dance floor while she rushed over to the D.J. After whispering something in his ear, Lana convinced the D.J. to stop the song that had been playing originally and a different song came on. An older but nonetheless loving and beautiful song. Just as Lana wanted it.  
  
She found Clark standing quite lost by himself. Lana linked her arms around his neck and felt his hands tenderly reach around her waist.  
  
~At last~  
  
~My love has come along~  
  
~My lonely days are over~  
  
~And life is like a song~  
  
Clark closed his eyes trying to take everything in. Words couldn't describe how happy he was right then. Lana was in his arms. Not Whitney's. Not Jason's. Not anyone else's. He was the one she wanted. And she was the one he wanted. He smiled dreamily feeling her wonderful hair on his cheek.  
  
~Ohh yeah~  
  
~At last the skies above are blue~  
  
~And my heart was wrapped in clover~  
  
~The night I looked at you~  
  
It felt so good to be wrapped in Clark's embrace. His presence was so warm and comforting. She wished they could stay like this forever. The song would never end and neither would the night.  
  
~I found a dream that I could speak to~  
  
~A dream that I could call my own~  
  
~I found a thrill to press my cheek to~  
  
~A thrill that I have never known~  
  
"I can't believe it took me this long to show you how much you mean to me, Lana," Clark said still swaying to the music.  
  
"Just be glad you finally told me," Lana confirmed looking up at him happily.  
  
They went back to dancing and they stayed that way for what seemed like an enternity.  
  
~Oh yeah yeah~  
  
~You smiled ohh and then the spell was cast~  
  
~And here we are in heaven~  
  
~For you are mine at last~  
  
~For you are mine at last~  
  
*~*~*  
  
a.n. i love that song! if i ever get married, i'm playing that song at my wedding! haha  
  
ok. i hope u clana shippers enjoyed that! please review! i love the reviews! n i love you guys! haha  
  
REVIEW :o) 


	20. ChApTeR TwEnTy

Poltergeist by Electric Spyro  
  
a.n. now ending the story (finally! lol).  
  
there's some clana in it too! :oD  
  
ok. please read and review!  
  
cool, those last two lines rhymed. hehe  
  
enjoy!

* * *

The gangs last hours of their week long "vacation" were spent packing everything onto the train which was heading back to Smallville. Clark had never felt so glad to be going back there in his life. He could only imagine what his parents would say when they heard what happened.  
  
"Why does it seem like we have more luggage than what we started with?" Chloe wondered out loud as she threw her bag helplessly onto the chair she would be sitting in.  
  
"It always seems that way," Lana retorted setting her backpack delicately next to her friend's.  
  
Clark came into the compartment next carrying four buldging suitcases and kicking a sports bag infront of him due to the fact that he had no other form of getting it on board.  
  
"Clark, why do you always insist on taking my things?" Lana asked in an upset tone as she helped him unload everything.  
  
"I just want to be there for you," Clark admited simply throwing her a smile and then exiting.  
  
Lana remaining where she was as memories of the party floating happily back into her mind.  
  
"Hey, mind if you daydream of your man over there where your not in the way?" Chloe exclaimed pointing over to a chair.  
  
"Oh, sorry, Chloe." Lana obeyed and sat down in the seat patiently.  
  
After a few minutes, Lana looked down at the floor of the train and notice a small white square. With closer inspection, she realized it was a folded up piece of paper lying under one of Clark's bags.  
  
She hesitated before curiously reaching down and snatching it up. Her heart jumped when she saw her name written on it's front in bold letters. Savoring the moment, Lana opened it slowly.  
  
The letter went as follows:  
  
Lana -  
  
I have been thinking long and hard about what makes you special and here is what I have come up with so far: you have the ability to bring me out of the worst mood in the world. All I have to do is look in you direction, hear your voice, or know that you are on the other end talking to me. You make me laugh. You keep me wanting to know more about you. I think that's what makes me love you more and more everyday.  
  
I hope you feel the same about me.  
  
Yours forever, Clark  
  
Lana was frozen in surprise. She reread it once, then twice, then three times. She kept looking over the part where he'd said 'I think that's what makes me love you more and more everyday'. Love? Love?! Clark loves her? Clark Kent?! When did he ever write this?!  
  
Lana practically bubbled with excitement as she hurriedly stuffed the note in her pocket and walked briskly off the train.

* * *

At long last, the bags were all on board and all the students had a compartment. Mr. McDaniels went over roll call, but failed to mention Jason's name.  
  
'Oh well. At least I'll never forget him,' Lana thought in her head.  
  
Mr. McDaniels informed everyone that the train would be leaving in ten minutes so a few small groups of kids went back downtown for some last minute shopping while the others hovered around the train waiting impatiently. Clark and the others were the latter.  
  
"Hey Clark," Lana announced walking up him with a huge grin.  
  
"Lana, you look...happy."  
  
"I am," she confirmed. "Do you want to know why?"  
  
"I don't know. Should I?"  
  
Lana tried to muffle her smile, but it was failing terribly. "Yes or no question, Clark."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Lana quickly retrieved the note from her pocket. "When were you planning on giving me this?"  
  
Clark took the note from her, opened it, and began to feel his cheeks redden with embarassment. Lana bit her bottom lip to stifle a giggle.  
  
"Where did you get this?" he asked keeping his focus on the paper.  
  
"I found it on the floor of the compartment." Lana then noticed his reaction. "What?...you didn't mean what you said?"  
  
"No!" Clark quickly answered looking at her suddenly. There was no way he was going to let Lana slip away from him now. "No. I just...I never really meant for you to see it. It was kind of like...like a diary or something. I had to get it out because...I was too afraid to - "  
  
"Chloe! Guys! Don't leave yet!"  
  
Clark, Lana, and the others all turned to see Marshall and Simon racing towards them.  
  
"Hey! Come to see us off?" Chloe said cheerily.  
  
"Yeah. But we also wanted to give you something," Simon informed pulling out a wad of photographs from his pocket and handing them out to their Smallville friends.  
  
"What are these?" Clark asked as he took one.  
  
"They're pictures I took when we were in the forest and I was fighting Brad," Marshall stated victoriously. "Think of them as soveniors and a thank you for helping with the poltergeist mystery."  
  
They all had a fun time laughing at a few of the more humorous photos and then said their goodbyes. Marshall and Simon promised they would come Smallville soon and Chloe agreed to give them a spot in the Torch if they ever did.  
  
Just as the ten minutes was nearing it's end, Clark noticed Lex walking swiftly towards them.  
  
"I just wanted to say goodbye to you guys," he said when he reached them. "I'm staying in Eerie until the end of summer."  
  
"Why?" Clark asked frowning.  
  
"To put it bluntly - my father is a pain in the ass. The more stay with him the more my mansion in Eerie is looking very welcoming. It's one of the many reasons I bought it."  
  
Clark smiled brightly. "Well, I'm glad your going to have a nice summer vacation, Lex."  
  
"Me too." he began walking to his car. "I'll see you guys later. If you ever want to visit, just call."

* * *

The sun began to set and Mr. McDaniels informed everyone that it was time to board the train. They all filed in and the train started off in a puff of stream.  
  
"Go fish! Ha!" Lance shrieked triumphantly at Chloe who gave him an evil look and grabbed a card out of the messy pile in front of her.  
  
Pete was slumped over next to Chloe snoring loudly (once again in LaLa-Land with Frank and his beloved purple turtles) while Clark and Lana, the last two occupants in the compartment, were sitting side by side in the seats farthest away from Chloe, Pete, and Lance.  
  
"So Clark," Lana began turning towards him. "you never finished what you were going to say outside the train a few minutes ago."  
  
Clark's cheeks glowed again and he looked down at his thumbs. How was it that even after he kissed her, the nervous butterfulies still fluttered excitedly inside him?  
  
"Clark?" she stated taking her hand and lacing her fingers through his.  
  
He looked over at Lana a little surprised by her action. However, he knew it was time to make the final move.  
  
"Lana, as long as I can remember I've always had feelings for you. But I was so afraid to tell you that I just never did. But now...," Clark took another breath before saying what he'd wanted to since kindergarten. "but now i'm not afraid anymore...and...I love you, Lana."  
  
'Awwwww!!!' Lana exclaimed in her mind. Not only did Clark just openly confess his love for her, but he had the cutest face on when he said it! 'Lana! Say it back! Say it back to him!'  
  
"I love you too, Clark," she whispered. For some reason, her voice couldn't get any louder.  
  
By now, both Lance and Chloe had noticed Clark and Lana in the corner and stared quietly as the lovestruck two gazed into each others eyes.  
  
'Come on, Clark. You did it once already. Kiss her again!' Clark remained frozen inches from Lana's face. 'What are doing?! Quit being nervous!'  
  
Lana finally lost patience and leaned forward. Clark's eyebrows lifted with excitement and surprise as he felt Lana's lips on his again. He slowly relaxed enjoying every single moment of it. In reality, the kiss lasted about five seconds, but, to Clark, it felt longer. Much longer.  
  
"It's about time, guys!"  
  
Clark pulled away suddenly and felt his cheeks heat up when he saw Chloe and Lance laughing at him and Lana.  
  
Lana looked at her other friends and then back at Clark who was smiling with deep embarassment. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head in his shoulder. He looked down at her and then sighed laying his head on hers. The last few bars of the song he'd danced to last night came into his head.  
  
And here we are in heaven  
  
For you are mine at last  
  
For you are mine at last  
  
ThE EnD

* * *

a.n. hope u liked it! i had lotsa fun writing it!  
  
btw, that love letter that Clark wrote was actually something that my friend Lance (who inspired the character in my story coincidently named Lance. lol) IMed to his girlfriend (who is my friend also). when she sent it to me, i was like 'Awwwwwwww!!!!!' lol. i hadda stick it in this fic cuz it's just so cute  
  
okiedokie. review and lemme kno what u think  
  
p.s. if u're wonderin y i never said what made the flute noise attract the people into the forest, i kinda meant not to. maybe it was the kids, maybe it was the forest itself,...who knows....  
  
hehe. cliffy endings... :o) 


	21. ThAnK YoUz

Okiedokie people! There's just few people to thank (27 to be exact. lol). i'm doing this with a head ache and a screwed up computer, so if i forgot u, didn't spell ur pen name right, or put u in here even tho u didn't review this story, i sooo didn't mean to. u can just e-mail me n i'll be very glad to fix it  
  
CrAzYgUrL73089  
  
Cheese Diva  
  
Knight/m - i put Lex in this story just for u! lol  
  
dreamingprincess  
  
slikkidd2  
  
DDS  
  
KryptoWeirdo08  
  
beaker164  
  
Kobe-Mac  
  
BlueNess  
  
DuMont  
  
kentgirl  
  
Smalltowngirl89  
  
Tom-Welling1390  
  
Saint 2 Cynic  
  
devil3567  
  
Pulse  
  
jessclifton  
  
lanaxlang  
  
ash-mon89  
  
bishtawiman  
  
twiggirl06  
  
LiMiYa  
  
jessi01  
  
cruvusinthefron  
  
LL2  
  
Charmboy4 - ur review on my last chapter was very funny. thanx alot for that :o)  
  
THANK YOU GUYS!!!!!! i love writing so u can review it and enjoy it!  
  
i am beginning another story. this one, i think, is gonna be more focused on Clark and Lana then anything else so it'll probably only appeal to u clana shippers (which i kno there are so many of u awesome kids out there!). right now it's called Undercover, but that might change. and i have no idea when i'm going to start posting it or if i'll be that interested in the plot to even get that far.  
  
so i just wanted to keep u updated cuz i kno from reading ur reviews that u definitely don't want this to be my last story (which it won't)  
  
ok i'm done with this story so remember to keep the peace people!  
  
- (&$lectric-Spyro($&($)) 


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